Our Goal: Protecting Drinking Water at its Source

Our Water Is Ranked #2 In The Nation!

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The Scituate Reservoir is a critical source of drinking water and provides over 60% of Rhode Islanders with drinking water. The Scituate Reservoir Watershed Education Program is a partnership between Providence Water and the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District. It was formed to educate landowners in the watershed of the Scituate Reservoir about the connection between land use and water quality and how they can help protect this precious resource.

The Scituate Reservoir Watershed is made up of the land that water flows across or under on its way to the Scituate Reservoir.  How the land is used will directly impact the quality of the water.  The more highly developed the land is – the more pollutants that are likely to enter the reservoir.   But before the water makes its way to the reservoir, much of it passes through the groundwater that feeds the wells of residents living in the watershed.  When residents work together to protect water resources, everyone benefits – from your own family drinking your tap water, to your next door neighbor, to most residents, restaurants and businesses across RI, as well as future generations.

Providence Water owns about 33% of the land surrounding the reservoir, and the vast majority of that land is managed forest land.   Keeping land forested is the best way to protect drinking water at its source, as opposed to heavy treatment later in the distribution process. The remaining 67% of the land is owned by municipalities and residents living in Scituate, Glocester, Foster, Western Johnston and a small portion of Cranston and Smithfield, RI. Providence Water wishes to recognize and thank these landowners for employing good stewardship techniques on their land, as the entire state benefits – our water is ranked #2 in the nation!

The Scituate Reservoir Watershed Education Program's outreach theme for 2011 is "Forests:  A Working World in Your Backyard." This theme intentionally lines up in unity with the United Nations declaration of 2011 as the "International Year of the Forests" to "make concerted efforts to raise awareness at all levels to strengthen the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations." 

Forests purify ground and surface waters. In fact, forests serve as a primary way of protecting and managing public drinking water supplies. Forested buffers protect streams and ponds by filtering sediments and some nutrients that can degrade water quality and aquatic habitats. Forests are critical in sustaining the natural balance of the water cycle and protecting watersheds. Forests serve to protect us from frequent flooding and replenish groundwater resources. This is because the majority of rain and snowmelt soaks into the forest canopy and floor rather than quickly draining to the nearest surface water body.

For more about the forest in the Scituate Reservoir, click here.

International Year of the Forest Partners with
the Scituate Reservoir Watershed Education Program:
 RI Department of Environmental Management—Division of Forest Environment
RI Forest Conservators Organization
RI Rural Development Council
RI Resource Conservation & Development Council
RI Tree Farm Program
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
Society of American Foresters

Gina DeMarco, District Manager, Northern RI Conservation District 401-934-0840
Richard Blodgett, Land Management Specialist, Providence Water 401-521-6300 ext. 7316