Narragansett Bay Officially a "Great Water"

Narragansett Bay Officially a "Great Water"

You didn't have to convince anyone in these parts, but now Narragansett Bay has been officially designated as one of America's "Great Waters."

The selection of Narragansett Bay for special status recognizes its ecological, economic, and cultural importance to the region. The announcement by America’s Great Waters Coalition adds Narragansett Bay and its connected rivers and coastal waters to 10 original “Great Waters” established in 2010.  Narragansett Bay had also been of the first eight sites selected for the National Estuary Program in 1987.

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Well Deserved

“Narragansett Bay deserves this distinction,” said Save The Bay Executive Director Jonathan Stone. “More than ever, we need to work closely with our neighboring states and the federal government to see the big picture. We are part of a unique Southern New England ecosystem, and it makes good economic and practical sense to coordinate and collaborate in its management.”

The designation is part of a nation-wide effort to build support for the nation’s most valuable and threatened waterways through regional ecosystem-based environmental management, coordination, and collaboration across state lines and traditional boundaries.  Rhode Island has been a leader in using eco-system management for years, looking at natural processes rather than traditional political boundaries to craft decisions and policies.

 New England Linked

The entire New England coastal corridor is now linked together as Great Waters, ranging from Long Island Sound to Narragansett Bay to the Gulf of Maine.  (Massachusetts’ waters are included in the Gulf of Maine’s designation and for regional planning efforts.)   

That can have a political payoffs, says John Torgan of Save The Bay, the Narragansett Baykeeper. “As a New England voting bloc we can have significant influence nationally,” he said.

Infrastructure Important

Any shared funding achieved through the work of the Great Waters Coalition will likely be targeted at infrastructure repair and restoration, such as improving wastewater treatment plants and removing dams.

“We could make an investment in infrastructure for both the environment and economic development,” Torgan explained.

Save The Bay Push

Save The Bay applied for this designation in 2010. Today’s announcement adds Narragansett Bay and eight other “Great Waters” to the original list of 10. The original Great Waters include the Great Lakes, Coastal Louisiana, the Everglades,

Chesapeake Bay, Long Island Sound, the Gulf of Maine, Lake Champlain, the Mississippi River, Puget Sound, and San Francisco Bay. Today’s additions include the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary, the Colorado River, the Delaware River Basin, Galveston Bay, the Missouri River, the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary, the Ohio River Basin, and the Rio Grande.

“The addition of Narragansett Bay to the Great Waters Coalition is a strong and significant move, as it solidifies the New England states with their connected Great Waters,” said Peter Alexander, Director of the Northeast Great Waters Coalition. “Rhode Island can now align its plans with its neighbors and build lasting support for clean water infrastructure and habitat restoration. In this budget climate, we need to work harder to underscore the critical needs and the benefits of investment in our waterways.”

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