Water Quality Restoration Studies

Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program

DEM's Office of Water Resources develops water quality restoration studies, with public input, to restore and maintain water quality for impaired/polluted waters. Waters are impaired if they do not meet state water quality criteria. These studies, required by the federal Clean Water Act, are called Total Maximum Daily Loads or  TMDLs. TMDL is a term that represents the total pollutant that a waterbody can assimilate and still meet water quality standards. Learn more about RI’s water quality restoration efforts.

Rhode Island’s TMDL studies identify water quality goals, necessary pollutant reductions to achieve these goals, the sources of pollution found contributing to the pollution problems, and the necessary pollution control actions to achieve the required reductions and restore water quality. To learn more about which waterbodies have TMDLs completed and to view TMDL documents, visit TMDL and Water Quality Restoration Study Documents.

Water Quality Assessment and TMDL Information Resources

• RI TMDL Program
• TMDL Background Information
• EPA TMDL Home
• Final 2016 303(d) List of Impaired Waters
• Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Reporting
• Index of 303(d) Lists

Documents

Draft Documents Open for Public Comment

• Draft and Approved TMDL Documents
• Final TMDL Vision Framework Document

Documents Related to TMDL Projects

• Source Water Protection Initiative for Newport Water Supply Reservoirs
• Surface Water Monitoring in the Newport Water Supply Reservoirs 2015 Data Report (amended)
• Determination Nitrogen Thresholds & Nitrogen Load Reductions Green Hill & Ninigret Ponds
• Maidford River and Paradise Brook Water Quality Study and Pollutant Source Identification
• Addendum - Nitrogen Thresholds & Nitrogen Load Reductions Green Hill & Ninigret Ponds, October 2006
• Greenwich Bay Fish Kill Report

TMDL Implementation Guidance

• Scope of Work - Stormwater Attenuation and Source Reduction

Educational Brochures

• Simple Ways YOU Can Help Keep Rhode Island's Waters Clean
• 5 Reasons Why Feeding Waterfowl is Harmful