$2 Billion Investment Cleaning Up Narragansett Bay Hits Milestone
GoLocalProv News Team
$2 Billion Investment Cleaning Up Narragansett Bay Hits Milestone
Rhode Island lives, plays, eats, and attracts visitors because of the beauty and bounty of Narragansett Bay. Critical to Rhode Island’s environment and economy has been the nearly 30-year effort to build the three-phase Narragansett Bay Commission’s (NBC) Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) project.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“By the time everything is said and done, NBC ratepayers will have made a nearly $2 billion investment in the health of the bay. Along the way, the projects have created over 2000 direct and indirect jobs and the clean water that has resulted economically boosts our fishing and tourism industries,” said NBC Chair Vincent Mesolella.
The project ranks as one of the biggest public works investments in Rhode Island's history. This phase creates approximately 1,700 direct and indirect jobs.
After centuries of mistreatment of Narragansett Bay - the Industrial Revolution, untreated waste, and the discharge from the plating process in the jewelry industry adversely impacted Narragansett Bay for more than a century.
“It’s certainly exciting to know that we are undoing centuries of pollution with the CSO project and ensuring that our children and grandchildren will only ever know a healthy bay,” said Mesolella.
The tunnel will store and transport storm-related combined sewer and stormwater overflow to NBC’s Bucklin Point Wastewater Treatment Facility for full treatment before discharge into Narragansett Bay – all leading the way for cleaner waterways throughout Rhode Island.
The cutterhead of the tunnel boring machine (TBM), named “Chloe the Clean Water Cruncher” as a matter of naming traditions, was placed into the tunnel near Bucklin Point on June 22, 2022, marking the symbolic beginning of tunneling operations. Since then, the TBM has excavated 2.2 miles of earthen material spanning Pawtucket and Central Falls.
“We are excited to complete this important milestone in the Phase III RestoredWaters RI project,” said Mesolella. “We are continuing to see the positive results of the investments made through this project, including a significantly cleaner Narragansett Bay, reopening of shellfishing beds, and healthier waters for all Rhode Islanders for generations to come. I want to especially thank the individuals who’ve contributed to the success of the project on a daily basis, the NBC Board of Commissioners, our local legislative representatives and government supporters, our ratepayers, and the communities we serve.”
With the tunnel boring complete, the concrete-lined tunnel is capable of storing 58.5 million gallons of combined sewer and stormwater overflow ready for treatment and discharge. Storm-related sewage will be pumped to NBC’s Bucklin Point Wastewater Treatment Facility for full treatment.
The next step in this phase of the CSO program will include the installation of drop shafts and outfalls, which will divert storm-related sewer overflow into the tunnel.
RestoredWaters RI is the largest public works project in Rhode Island history. It continues to improve the health of shellfishing and swimming beaches across the state, reduce annual combined sewer overflow, and create green spaces for public access. Phase III of the project supported 1,700 direct or indirect jobs over the past three years.
CSO Phase III is divided into four sub-phases. Phase IIIA includes the Pawtucket Tunnel, which is the largest single facility in Phase III, representing approximately 2/3 of the anticipated project cost.
According to NBC, the tunnel is an important step towards reaching compliance with their consent agreement with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM). The agency states:
- The program will protect the water quality in Narragansett Bay, contributing to reducing annual combined sewer overflow volumes by 98% and achieving an 80% reduction in shellfish bed enclosures
- In 2019, the project received a loan through the USEPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) for 49% of the project cost
The CSO Phase III Facilities project includes design and/or construction of the following:
- 11,600-foot-long deep rock tunnel to provide a storage volume of 58.5 million gallons
- two launching and receiving work shafts
- four drop shafts to divert storm-related flow into the tunnel
- 160-foot-deep tunnel pump station to transport flow from the tunnel to the Bucklin Point WWTF for treatment
- several “green infrastructure” projects, providing permeable areas at the surface to absorb stormwater & keep it out of the sewer system
- modifications throughout the sewer system to optimize flow
- limited areas of sewer separation, where stormwater is directed into a separate pipe from sanitary sewage
The purpose of the project is to implement the final phase of the federally mandated CSO Abatement Program, significantly reduce CSO volumes in the Bucklin Point service area, and eliminate overflows from a three-month storm (1.614 inches of rain in six hours).