SNEP Watershed Grants

2019 Grants

In 2019, RAE selected 13 grant recipients in Rhode Island and Massachusetts through a rigorous competitive process. The awardees include municipalities, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions, each of which is leading an innovative, high-impact project of regional importance. The $2.3 million in federal funding for the region will be matched by an additional $800,000 in state and local dollars – providing, in total, more than $3.1 million in funds to protect and restore Southeast New England’s environment. Read the combined press release here.

Audubon Society of RI | Providence Stormwater Innovation Center | $177,534
A partnership between ASRI, City of Providence, and the RI Green Infrastructure Coalition to create a regional center for stormwater innovation at Roger Williams Park in Providence. The Center will develop technology, undertake research, and provide training to municipalities and others to foster better stormwater management throughout the SNEP region. Click here to view a presentation on this project and check out their YouTube Channel for informational videos.

City of Cranston | Green Infrastructure at Spectacle Pond | $187,500
Planning, implementation and outreach to help restore clean water to Spectacle Pond, Roger Williams Park, and the Pawtuxet River system. Partner: Save The Bay.

Groundwork RI | Green Infrastructure Training & Employment | $198,891
Install stormwater improvements in Providence while providing job training for urban youth.Partners: City of Providence and other non-profit organizations.

City of Newport | Non-Structural Stormwater Approaches | $108,750
Non-Structural Stormwater Approaches: The grant supports approaches to reducing urban stormwater by addressing regulatory loopholes that allow additional impervious cover in already dense neighborhoods and providing BMP guidance to private property owners. Partner: Aquidneck Island Planning Commission.

Northern Rhode Island Conservation District | Healthy Farm, Healthy Watershed | $113,976
Establish a manure management program for small farmers in the Scituate Reservoir watershed, reducing pollution to Providence’s principal source of drinking water. Partners include the Providence Water Supply Board and University of Rhode Island.

Town of Warren | Storm Water Management at Public Right-of-Ways | $25,000
Install innovative stormwater practices on waterfront streets to reduce pollution to Narragansett Bay. Partner: Save The Bay.

Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council | Woonasquatucket River Greenway | $245,000
The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC) and local partners, such as Farm Fresh Rhode Island (FFRI) designed and installed projects that use natural systems to treat and store stormwater. Using green stormwater infrastructure, we focused on depaving and greening parking lots and, in the case of FFRI, a former Brownfields site. This project will not only improve water quality in the Woonasquatucket River, it will help prevent flooding, and provide additional greening and cooling for neighborhoods in the greatest need. It will also help engage and educate the local residents and business owners in preparing for climate change and becoming more resilient. This project will serve as an example of how directed planning and investment along an urban river corridor can change the nature of the area and improve climate equity and resilience. 

Association to Preserve Cape Cod | Three Bays Stormwater | $245,000
-Read the Executive Summary
This grant continues funding provided by SNEP Watershed Grants in 2018, and will support the design and installation of stormwater management practices to restore clean water to three estuaries in Barnstable. Partners: Town of Barnstable, Barnstable Clean Water Coalition, Cotuit Public Library and others.

Buzzards Bay Coalition | Fostering Salt Marsh Resilience | $223,533
Undertake research to better understand causes and trends of marsh loss on Buzzards Bay; pilot and test management measures to save salt marshes. Partners: Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, Woodwell Climate Research Center, Save The Bay, US Geological Survey, Bristol County Mosquito Control.

Falmouth Rod & Gun Club | Childs River Dam Removal & River Restoration | $245,000
–Read the Executive Summary
This grant continues funding provided by SNEP Watershed Grants in 2018 for an innovative project to restore natural wetlands and trout habitat in three abandoned cranberry bogs in Falmouth. Partners: Association to Preserve Cape Cod, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Commonwealth of MA, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Woods Hole Research Center. Click here for much more on this recently completed project!

Mass. Maritime Academy | Buzzards Bay Stormwater Collaborative | $176,581
Massachusetts Maritime Academy has partnered with the Buzzards Bay National Estuary to complete work in 8 participating municipalities (Bourne, Wareham, Marion, Mattapoisett, Acushnet, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, and Westport). During the spring, summer, and fall semester a group of cadets are chosen as part of a co-operative learning experience. They are trained to GPS above ground stormwater structures, test specified outfalls during dry and wet weather, and inventory outfalls that have not yet been recorded. The stormwater project has had steady transitions between the incoming co-op groups and continues to enhance cadets academic experience at the academy. The Departments of Public Works in each town have also provided their services in the event that catch basin and manhole covers need to be lifted to collect stormwater samples. All of these efforts are to help lessen the impact of stormwater pollutants on the degradation of coastal waters and wetlands in Buzzards Bay.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | Validation of Permeable Reactive Barrier | $298,598
Research and testing of an innovative technology to reduce nitrogen pollution by intercepting groundwater as it flows into coastal waters. Partners: Town of Falmouth, Cape Cod Commission.

Buzzards Bay Coalition | Prevent Nutrient Pollution from Composting in Coastal Waters | $27,695
Assist communities in reducing nutrient pollution to coastal waters from new composting facilities recently required by Massachusetts law. Partner: Town of Dartmouth.