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.
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.
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.
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.
