Nitrogen

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, is investigating the relationship between onsite wastewater treatment systems and nitrogen loads in water bodies in the Narragansett Bay watershed in Rhode Island.

The Pawcatuck River and the Pawcatuck River Estuary and Little Narragansett Bay form part of the boundary between the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Both states have identified water quality impairments within these waters related to nutrients (insufficient oxygen) and bacteria. Studies of the eutrophication potential of Long Island Sound embayments have identified that the Pawcatuck...

River-borne nutrients, especially nitrogen, contribute to water-quality degradation in Long Island Sound. The Connecticut River is the largest tributary to the Sound, and quantification of nutrient loads from the three upper States in the watershed, as well as the State of Connecticut, is essential for prioritizing efforts to improve the Sound’s water quality.