Roger Williams Park is home to the new Providence Stormwater Innovation Center, the result of a collaboration of organizations and community dedicated to improving urban water quality and associated wildlife habitat through the use of innovative green stormwater practices. A wide range of green infrastructure has already been implemented in Roger Williams Park, to reduce stormwater contaminants from entering the ponds and degrading water quality. The Stormwater Innovation Center will use these structures and practices to provide hands-on training for municipalities, engineers, construction companies, and scientists who will learn from the successes and failures of their design, implementation, and maintenance.
In order to measure the impacts of stormwater treatment, a volunteer water quality monitoring program is being established, in partnership with URI’s Watershed Watch. No prior experience is necessary, just an interest in learning about water quality sampling and monitoring in your community. Watershed Watch provides all of the training necessary to become a citizen scientist!
Training sessions are offered Saturday, March 28, 2020 from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM and Thursday, April 2, 2020 from 6:00-9:00 PM. Because the measurement of water clarity is heavily influenced by the height of the sun, monitoring at these sites takes place mid-day when the sun is at its highest, between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM, on a weekly basis on the day of your choice. Then at least three times a season according to a schedule established by URI Watershed Watch, samples will be collected and immediately brought to the URI Watershed Watch laboratory in Kingston for analysis of parameters that cannot be done in the field.
To register as a water quality monitoring volunteering, CLICK HERE and select “Water Quality Monitor: Providence Stormwater Innovation Center.”
For more information about the Providence Stormwater Innovation Center and the volunteer monitoring program, please contact Ryan Kopp at [email protected] or register for a training class.
