Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Emergency Burn Ban In Effect 10/26/24 - An emergency burn ban is now in effect for all Connecticut State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management areas, prohibiting the use of all outdoor grills, firepits, and campfires, and the kindling and use of flame outdoors. DEEP and local agencies are working to contain several active fires across the state. Please avoid all affected State Parks and Forests, as well as the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail. The Enduro Trail in Voluntown and portions of North Stonington within the Pachaug State Forest are closed at this time. Please note that today's forest fire danger report remains at an 'extreme' level. More information about the current fire danger, burn ban and recommended safety measures can be found here

The Pawcatuck River Watershed

Study area of the Pawcatuck Watershed including Anguilla Brook.

The Pawcatuck River is 31 miles long and its watershed drains an area of 69,829 acres.  The watershed is mostly in Rhode Island with smaller areas located in Connecticut. The river flows from the outlet of Worden’s Pond (South Kingstown, Rhode Island) to Little Narragansett Bay in Westerly, Rhode Island and Stonington, CT.  The majority of the population within the watershed primarily consists of small towns and rural communities, except for the Towns of Westerly and Stonington. These two larger communities are found in the furthest downstream area of the watershed.

Key Water Quality Issue in the Watershed

Similar to many rivers in New England today, there are significant water quality issues that cause stress to the natural resources in the Pawcatuck River Watershed. One of the most significant is nutrient pollution impacting the estuary.  

Work on this project in the freshwater Pawcatuck River and watershed is supported by the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Watershed Grants. SNEP grants are funded by the U.S. EPA through a collaboration with Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE). For additional information, go to the SNEP grant program. 
In a separate complimentary project, US EPA Chelmsford Lab, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), and Save The Bay will collect data for evaluation of water quality in the estuarine Pawcatuck and Little Narragansett Bay during 2019.


Thank you to the staff and members of the SNEP program for helping to make the Pawcatuck Nutrient Project a reality!

For more details on the how CT DEEP and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) are collaborating on the Pawcatuck nutrient project and deeper explanation of nutrient pollution issues, visit the ARC GIS Story Map by selecting the image below:

Pawcutuck Storymap link

 

 

 

 

 

 


Water Quality Data

Other Reports and Information
Watershed Organizations as Partners
 
        Save the Bay logo      Wood Pawcatuck WA logo
 
Related Links:

 

Content last updated September 19, 2022