Surface Water Monitoring

In Rhode Island, the DEM Office of Water Resources implements several surface water monitoring programs and collaborates on monitoring activities with a variety of partners. The Rhode Island Water Monitoring Strategy provides a framework for coordination of these efforts.

Water quality monitoring documents surface water conditions and is essential for observing changes and determining trends over time. Among its many uses, monitoring information is used to characterize ambient water quality conditions, identify water pollution problems and their causes, and identify threats to human health. A variety of monitoring activities are conducted, at different geographic and temporal scales, in order to meet specific information needs.

Lake Monitoring

River & Stream Monitoring

Narragansett Bay Monitoring

Shellfish Monitoring

RI Water Monitoring Strategy

Rhode Island’s Water Monitoring Strategy describes water monitoring programs being implemented in surface waters including rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and coastal estuarine waters. The document also recommends actions to eliminate critical data gaps. The Water Monitoring Strategy, developed by RIDEM, was also reviewed and approved by the Rhode Island Environmental Monitoring Collaborative, a governmental entity established by state law in 2004. RIDEM is currently in the process of updating the existing strategy.