Water Quality Monitoring in the Scituate Reservoir Drainage Area, Rhode Island Active
The Scituate Reservoir system is the largest inland body of water in Rhode Island and the principal drinking-water supply for more than 60 percent of the State’s population. The system includes the Scituate Reservoir and five tributary reservoirs with a maximum storage capacity of 37 billion gallons. The drainage basin that contributes water to the reservoir extends across 93 square miles in northwestern Rhode Island.
Most of the drainage basin (87 percent) is undeveloped forestland, but the basin also contains residential, commercial, and industrial development, and it is crossed by a major highway. Various contaminants associated with these land uses are a concern, including sodium and chloride from the application of deicing compounds on roads. The Providence Water Supply Board (PWSB), the agency tasked with managing the drainage basin for source-water protection, closely monitors water quality in the tributaries that drain into the basin, through a long-term sampling program and cooperative agreements with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to collect streamflow data and analyze constituent loads of water-quality constituents that might lead to the degradation of reservoir water quality. This cooperative monitoring program provides PWSB resource managers with ongoing information about quality and quantity of water conditions in the basin as well as the rate of loading for constituents of interest to the reservoir.
The USGS started collecting streamflow data in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area in the 1990s.These flow data provided essential information needed to estimate the mass loads of constituents carried by the tributaries into the reservoir at the time of sampling; with data on loads, the relative inputs of constituents to the reservoir from the different tributaries can be compared. In 2009, a cooperative agreement between the PWSB and the USGS added continuous streamflow- and water-quality monitoring at 12 additional monitoring stations on tributaries to the reservoir system. Currently, the USGS operates 16 continuous monitoring stations in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area and collects periodic water-quality samples at each site. The continuous streamflow data have greatly increased the accuracy of the load estimates. Continuous water-quality monitoring data have been used to more precisely calculate loads of sodium and chloride—constituents of concern entering the reservoir. The continuous data also have allowed the PWSB to gain a better understanding of temporal changes in the overall quality and quantity of the source water to the reservoir and provide the PWSB with near real-time information about conditions within the drainage basin.
Knowledge of the temporal trends in the physical properties and constituent concentrations routinely measured in water-quality samples can be used to predict future water-quality problems or recognize improvements. Continued analysis of historic and new concentration and load data, and improvements to the precision of such estimates through investments in the current monitoring network are essential to sustaining the high-quality source of water to Scituate Reservoir and understanding how water quality in the tributaries may be changing over time.
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Streamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2009
Streamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2003
Streamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2004
Streamflow, Water Quality, and Constituent Loads and Yields, Scituate Reservoir Drainage Area, Rhode Island, Water Year 2005
Streamflow, Water Quality, and Constituent Loads and Yields, Scituate Reservoir Drainage Area, Rhode Island, Water Year 2006
Streamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2002
Water-Quality Conditions and Constituent Loads, Water Years 1996-2002, and Water-Quality Trends, Water Years 1983-2002, in the Scituate Reservoir Drainage Area, Rhode Island
Estimated water use and availability in the Pawtuxet and Quinebaug River basins, Rhode Island, 1995-99
Effects of alternative instream-flow criteria and water-supply demands on ground-water development options in the Big River Area, Rhode Island
Sources of sodium and chloride in the Scituate Reservoir drainage basin, Rhode Island
Water-quality conditions and relation to drainage-basin characteristics in the Scituate Reservoir Basin, Rhode Island, 1982-95
Low-flow characteristics of selected streams in northern Rhode Island
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- Overview
The Scituate Reservoir system is the largest inland body of water in Rhode Island and the principal drinking-water supply for more than 60 percent of the State’s population. The system includes the Scituate Reservoir and five tributary reservoirs with a maximum storage capacity of 37 billion gallons. The drainage basin that contributes water to the reservoir extends across 93 square miles in northwestern Rhode Island.
Most of the drainage basin (87 percent) is undeveloped forestland, but the basin also contains residential, commercial, and industrial development, and it is crossed by a major highway. Various contaminants associated with these land uses are a concern, including sodium and chloride from the application of deicing compounds on roads. The Providence Water Supply Board (PWSB), the agency tasked with managing the drainage basin for source-water protection, closely monitors water quality in the tributaries that drain into the basin, through a long-term sampling program and cooperative agreements with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to collect streamflow data and analyze constituent loads of water-quality constituents that might lead to the degradation of reservoir water quality. This cooperative monitoring program provides PWSB resource managers with ongoing information about quality and quantity of water conditions in the basin as well as the rate of loading for constituents of interest to the reservoir.
The USGS started collecting streamflow data in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area in the 1990s.These flow data provided essential information needed to estimate the mass loads of constituents carried by the tributaries into the reservoir at the time of sampling; with data on loads, the relative inputs of constituents to the reservoir from the different tributaries can be compared. In 2009, a cooperative agreement between the PWSB and the USGS added continuous streamflow- and water-quality monitoring at 12 additional monitoring stations on tributaries to the reservoir system. Currently, the USGS operates 16 continuous monitoring stations in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area and collects periodic water-quality samples at each site. The continuous streamflow data have greatly increased the accuracy of the load estimates. Continuous water-quality monitoring data have been used to more precisely calculate loads of sodium and chloride—constituents of concern entering the reservoir. The continuous data also have allowed the PWSB to gain a better understanding of temporal changes in the overall quality and quantity of the source water to the reservoir and provide the PWSB with near real-time information about conditions within the drainage basin.
Knowledge of the temporal trends in the physical properties and constituent concentrations routinely measured in water-quality samples can be used to predict future water-quality problems or recognize improvements. Continued analysis of historic and new concentration and load data, and improvements to the precision of such estimates through investments in the current monitoring network are essential to sustaining the high-quality source of water to Scituate Reservoir and understanding how water quality in the tributaries may be changing over time.
- Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
- Multimedia
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 24Streamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2009
Streamflow and water-quality data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the Providence Water Supply Board (PWSB), Rhode Island's largest drinking-water supplier. Streamflow was measured or estimated by the USGS following standard methods at 23 streamgage stations; 13 of these stations were also equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously monitoring specific conductance aAuthorsRobert F. Breault, Kirk P. SmithStreamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2003
Streamflow and water-quality data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the Providence Water Supply Board, Rhode Island's largest drinking-water supplier. Streamflow was measured or estimated by the USGS following standard methods at 23 streamgage stations; 10 of these stations were also equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously monitoring specific conductance. StreamfAuthorsRobert F. Breault, Jean P. CampbellStreamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2004
Streamflow and water-quality data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the Providence Water Supply Board, Rhode Island's largest drinking-water supplier. Streamflow was measured or estimated by the USGS following standard methods at 23 streamgage stations; 10 of these stations were also equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously monitoring specific conductance. StreamfAuthorsRobert F. Breault, Jean P. CampbellStreamflow, Water Quality, and Constituent Loads and Yields, Scituate Reservoir Drainage Area, Rhode Island, Water Year 2005
Streamflow and water-quality data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the Providence Water Supply Board, Rhode Island’s largest drinking-water supplier. Streamflow was measured or estimated by the USGS following standard methods at 23 streamgage stations; 10 of these stations were also equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously monitoring specific conductance. StreamfAuthorsRobert F. Breault, Jean P. CampbellStreamflow, Water Quality, and Constituent Loads and Yields, Scituate Reservoir Drainage Area, Rhode Island, Water Year 2006
Streamflow and water-quality data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the Providence Water Supply Board, Rhode Island's largest drinking-water supplier. Streamflow was measured or estimated by the USGS following standard methods at 23 streamgage stations; 10 of these stations were also equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously monitoring specific conductance. StreamfAuthorsRobert F. Breault, Jean P. CampbellStreamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2002
Streamflow and water-quality data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the Providence Water Supply Board, Rhode Island's largest drinking-water supplier. Streamflow was measured or estimated by the USGS following standard methods at 23 streamflow-gaging stations; 10 of these stations were also equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously monitoring specific conductance.AuthorsRobert F. BreaultWater-Quality Conditions and Constituent Loads, Water Years 1996-2002, and Water-Quality Trends, Water Years 1983-2002, in the Scituate Reservoir Drainage Area, Rhode Island
The Scituate Reservoir is the primary source of drinking water for more than 60 percent of the population of Rhode Island. Water-quality data and streamflow data collected at 37 surface-water monitoring stations in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, from October 1, 1995 through September 30, 2002, (water years (WY) 1996-2002) were analyzed to determine water-quality conditions andAuthorsMark T. Nimiroski, Leslie A. DeSimone, Marcus C. WaldronEstimated water use and availability in the Pawtuxet and Quinebaug River basins, Rhode Island, 1995-99
Water availability became a concern in Rhode Island during a drought in 1999, and an investigation was needed to assess demands on the hydrologic system from withdrawals during periods of little to no precipitation. The low water levels during the drought prompted the U.S. Geological Survey and the Rhode Island Water Resources Board to begin a series of studies on water use and availability in eacAuthorsEmily C. Wild, Mark T. NimiroskiEffects of alternative instream-flow criteria and water-supply demands on ground-water development options in the Big River Area, Rhode Island
Transient numerical ground-water-flow simulation and optimization techniques were used to evaluate potential effects of instream-flow criteria and water-supply demands on ground-water development options and resultant streamflow depletions in the Big River Area, Rhode Island. The 35.7 square-mile (mi2) study area includes three river basins, the Big River Basin (30.9 mi2), the Carr River Basin (whAuthorsGregory E. Granato, Paul M. BarlowSources of sodium and chloride in the Scituate Reservoir drainage basin, Rhode Island
No abstract available.AuthorsMark T. Nimiroski, Marcus C. WaldronWater-quality conditions and relation to drainage-basin characteristics in the Scituate Reservoir Basin, Rhode Island, 1982-95
The Scituate Reservoir Basin covers about 94 square miles in north central Rhode Island and supplies more than 60 percent of the State of Rhode Island's drinking water. The basin includes the Scituate Reservoir Basin and six smaller tributary reservoirs with a combined capacity of about 40 billion gallons. Most of the basin is forested and undeveloped. However, because of its proximity to the ProvAuthorsRobert F. Breault, Marcus C. Waldron, Lora K. Barlow, David C. DickermanLow-flow characteristics of selected streams in northern Rhode Island
Low-flow characteristics were estimated for selected streams in northern Rhode Island. Streamflow was measured at 18 low-flow partial-record gaging stations on rivers and brooks including those contributing to the two largest water supplies in Rhode Island, the Scituate Reservoir and the Pawtucket Reservoir system. Relations were developed between streamflows at the partial-record stations and floAuthorsJ.D. Kliever - Partners
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