Animation of Water Movement Withdrawn by Providence Water from the Scituate Reservoir

A conceptualization for the movement of water withdrawn by Providence Water from the Scituate Reservoir across the landscape. 

The following is a description of the data used to create the Scituate Reservoir Water Use Illustration:

All large public suppliers in Rhode Island provide annual reports to the RIWRB for non-revenue water and water withdrawn, purchased or sold, and distributed to customers.  USGS received the 2020 annual reports for Providence Water and the public suppliers that purchased from Providence Water from the RIWRB. Return-flow information from wastewater-treatment facilities for the same time period was obtained from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management RI Discharge Elimination System database. All other information presented in the illustration was estimated by the USGS.

Providence Water uses water from the Scituate Reservoir as the sole source for water use across the landscape. Some of their wholesale customers use additional sources of water to augment deliveries by Providence Water. This illustration is constrained to water withdrawn from the Scituate Reservoir. USGS adjusted the reported water deliveries from utilities that purchase at least some water from Providence Water with the estimated fraction that originated from the Scituate Reservoir. Similarly, reported return flows from wastewater-treatment facilities were adjusted by the estimated fraction that originated from the Scituate Reservoir. 

Adjustments to reported data were made in GIS using datasets such as E911 and water and sewer service boundaries, and information from online town plans and water-quality reports. For more information please contact Laura Medalie at lmedalie@usgs.gov.