Informational Meeting on Water Quality in Melville Ponds

The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will hold a public meeting on November 7th from 5 – 6:30 pm at the Portsmouth Town Hall to discuss nutrient-related water quality issues in Upper and Lower Melville Ponds. The meeting will be a combination of in-person and virtual. It will provide an opportunity for DEM to discuss efforts to evaluate and improve water quality in both reservoirs and to obtain input from stakeholders.     

To join the public meeting using your phone for audio, click on "Join by Phone" and follow the information on the screen to dial in. All participants will be muted upon joining the meeting. Following the presentation, DEM will take questions via voice or chat.  To be unmuted during the hearing, participants should click the "Raise Hand" button on the screen or type into the chat, which will be monitored.  

Both Upper and Lower Melville Ponds, located in Portsmouth, RI, are on the state’s 303(d) Impaired Waters List for total phosphorus (TP).  Dissolved oxygen impairments, associated with elevated levels of total phosphorus, were documented in 2021 and will be added to the 2024 List of Impaired Waters.    

The federal Clean Water Act requires states to develop a water cleanup study (also called a total maximum daily load or TMDL) for waters that are on the 303(d) List. TMDLs establish the maximum amounts of specific pollutants that can be discharged to a water body and still meet water quality standards.   

Both Upper and Lower Melville Pond are over-enriched with nutrients, particularly phosphorus, and exhibit the following negative impacts: frequent and long-lasting algal and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms, extensive growth of rooted aquatic plants, low levels of dissolved oxygen, elevated levels of chlorophyll-a, low water clarity, and reduced aesthetics – all of which impact both aquatic life and recreational uses.  The primary source of phosphorus comes from urban and residential stormwater runoff.  Other sources include internal cycling of phosphorus from reservoir sediments. 

At the November 7th meeting, RIDEM staff will provide an overview of the results of water quality monitoring and pollution source identification efforts conducted in 2021 and 2022 and describe the approach to developing TMDLs for Upper and Lower Melville Pond. The TMDL process also includes the participation of stakeholder groups and other interested parties to assist in identifying possible sources of pollution and to identify the most reasonable measures that should be implemented for these waterbodies to attain water quality goals.  

The results of these studies will provide important information that can be utilized by municipalities, RIDOT, watershed groups, and individual property owners to make meaningful water quality improvements in the watershed.  Public and stakeholder input are important to the success of water quality improvements. 

For more information concerning the meeting or water quality issues in the Melville Ponds, contact Brian Zalewsky in DEM’s Office of Water Resources at (401) 222-4700 ext. 2777145 or via email at brian.zalewsky@dem.ri.gov.