OpEd
Paul A. Roselli
665 Maureen
Circle
Mapleville,
Rhode Island 02839
(401) 447-1560
proselli@cox.net
Who attends to
the River?
This past
weekend, students from Bryant University and I conducted a survey on the
environment, the Blackstone River and Rhode Island bond referendum questions 5
and 6. The survey was conducted along the Blackstone River Bikeway in Manville,
Rhode Island and is part of a campaign to bring awareness to the River and the
referendum questions. One young couple that took the survey, asked the
question, “So who attends to the River?”
The question
came as a surprise as I thought everyone knew the answer. And in light of the
two bond questions, and the editorial comments presented in the Providence
Business News on October 29, I thought enough had been said about who these two
bond referendums would affect. But, even in this era of political wrangling and
fact checking clamber, maybe it is a good time to answer the question this
young couple asked. And since there are two Rhode Island Referendum Questions
on the ballot this year asking voters to approve money for Open Space and Water
Quality issues, perhaps it is appropriate to review why these bonds are
important and who might benefit in the context of who attends to the River.
First, it was
not long ago that no-one ‘attended’ to the River.
In 1971, the
Blackstone River was labeled as “one of America’s most polluted rivers.” The
article making this proclamation was from an issue of Audubon magazine whose
reach, at the time, was global. Millions of readers worldwide wondered what was
this thing called the Blackstone River.
The River, as
most grade school students will tell you, was the birthplace of the American
Industrial Revolution. Samuel Slater kicked it all off in 1793 with the first
cotton mill in the United States. Quickly, manufacturing and fabric making took
hold, powered by the force of the river where the average flow rate is nearly
862 cubic feet per second. 862 cubic feet, by the way, is about the size of 6
minivans cargo capacity rolling down the River every second. By the 1830s,
there was one dam powering a slew of mills and plants for every mile of river
along each of the main stem and tributaries of the Blackstone River. Pawtucket,
Rhode Island, for example, had nearly 30 cotton mills all powered by the
Blackstone.
The intense
industrial usage of the Blackstone River left a legacy of rampant pollution and
damage. Textile manufacturers discharged dyes, leather and metal-working plants
discharged heavy metals, and wood-working companies discharged varnish,
solvents and paints. And those who lived along the River’s edge often unloaded
their own rubble into the river: abandoned cars, tires, metal fittings,
barrels, wood, iron and more daily rolled down the banks and into the river. As
late as 1988, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts reported to Congress that the
river was polluted and not suitable for bathing, fishing or much of anything.
In Rhode Island, the entire 16 miles of river was not suitable for boating, or
even as an industrial water supply.
If you know
anything about the River’s past, this is what you know and remember.
At the height
of the Industrial Revolution, no one took care of the river.
Today, there
are government and non-governmental agencies whose job is to promote the use of
the River, to provide interpretive signs and historic landmarks marking the
history of the River. They also check on water quality, drainage systems, waste
water treatment plants and more. And there are those whose mission is to promote
the River as a tourist attraction: train rides, boat tours, bike and hiking
trails are what keeps the River alive and in our minds as an attraction.
But what you
may not know, as this young couple did not, is that the Blackstone River
Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone is the only group that attends to
the day-to-day life of the River. They are the ones who get into boats, use
cranes and muster volunteer power to hoist tires and cars out of the River, rip
out invasive plant species and help cut trees down that have fallen into the
River. They are the ones who work with hundreds of state and federal government
agencies and local businesses to help move municipal governments to change
their storm water drainage patterns, help improve wastewater treatment plants’
discharge into the River, build rain gardens and hiking trails, bring fish into
schools and work tirelessly with a host of state, federal and private agencies
to help bring native, anadromous fish back by building fish ladders along the
Blackstone.
And they are
all volunteers. That’s right! No paid staff.
In terms of
full disclosure, I am a proud board member of the Blackstone River Watershed
Council/Friends of the Blackstone. I have been on the board for nearly 9 years.
One has only to attend one board meeting and follow the agenda or listen to the
Treasurer’s report to understand the scope of projects undertaken by all of
these volunteers.
The
Council/Friends has been around for nearly 23 years. We have always been an
all-volunteer organization with no paid staff. Our focus has always been, the
River. And we do it very well, I might add. Unlike municipal, state or federal
agencies, volunteer organizations have certain advantages: they can act quickly
mustering forces to make immediate river mends; they are sustainable; they are
free; and as long as you recognize your volunteers for their work, the
volunteers can be with you for a lifetime.
This has been a
very productive and rewarding year for the Council/Friends: a new home known as
the Friends of the Blackstone River Environmental Center; a new FaceBook page
and Twitter account; bidding and pre-construction activities for our fish
ladders; tree planting along Sycamore Landing in Manville, Rhode Island;
partnerships with Bryant University; lots of river cleanups; visits by federal
agency officials; testimony in front of a host of agencies all along the
watershed; and, more.
This is where
Rhode Island Bond Referendum Questions 5 & 6 come into play. Question 5 is
for infrastructure improvements for wastewater treatment plants that feed into
the Blackstone or its tributaries and drinking water protection so that places
like Tiverton, Newport, Pawtucket, Woonsocket and many others can have better
water quality. Question 6 is for Open Space – the kind of Open Space we all
remember starting with then Governor John H. Chafee in the Green Acres Program.
And even though Question 6 is labeled as Environmental Management Bonds, the
truth is, this is our Open Space bond question. Question 6 has funds to help
prevent storm water draining into our watersheds and the building of a fish
ladder along the Blackstone. Both of these bond questions deserve voter
scrutiny for sure. But they deserve equally, voter approval as they are
cornerstones to the health of our state and the health of our River. The River,
and the entire watershed for that matter, is one of the only sustainable
economic forces in our state that increases in value over time. Always has.
Always will.
And if there
was ever a face for who benefits from Question 5 and 6, the Blackstone River
Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone is the poster child who benefits
along with all those who travel the River, who walk or bike along its shore, or
whose restaurant overlooks the mighty waters of the Blackstone River.
For certain,
the River has come a long way since the days of being labeled as one of
“America’s most polluted rivers.”
There is a
survey on our Facebook page and you can follow us on Twitter @Brwcouncil and
get 30 days of fun filled facts about the River. Please take the survey. Let us
know how you would like to use the River in the future and what you think about
the two bond referendum questions. We hope you approve both.
As this couple
finished answering the survey, I pointed to the new Friends of the Blackstone
River Environmental Center located very close to the river’s edge and answered
their question, so “Who attends to the River?” The answer was easy: we do.
Paul
A. Roselli is a board member of the Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends
of the Blackstone, a board member and president of the Burrillville Land Trust
and a board member of the Rhode Island Land Trust Council.
Sources:
America’s Dirty Rivers - Audubon magazine – can’t find the citation
862 cubic feet per second, number of
dams, etc.
– Rhode Island Sea Grant Fact Sheet -
http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/factsheets/blackstone_river.html
6 minivans cargo capacity - Cargo capacity: rear seat down (cu ft): 143.8 of a 2012 Dodge Grand
Caravan
http://www.automotive.com/dodge/grand-caravan/2012/specifications/t3-12-2-1/
Commonwealth of Massachusetts report to
Congress -
O’Shea, L. K. 1991. Blackstone River Water Quality Data 1988 and 1989.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water
Pollution Control, Technical Services Section, Westborough, MA. 54 p.; and many
others
“sustainable economic forces in our
state” -
http://www.nps.gov/history/heritageareas/NHAreport.pdf, Case Study III
Providence
Business News Editorial – Voter referenda present mixed choices – posted
October 29, 2012
