Surfrider Foundation Rhode Island Chapter: Issues & Campaigns

RI Issues

Clean Water in Newport Ongoing problems with local sewage pump station in Newport have led to events of high bacteria count in the waters of First and Second Beach. The City of Newport and the Town of Middletown are both working with engineers and scientists on remediation efforts. Surfrider has been active in attending town meetings and has been an advocate for cleaner oceans.

Year-round Water Testing According to current EPA guidelines, Rhode Island's coastal waters are only "active" during the three month summer season. Therefore, the State only recevies funding to test the water quality during those three months. Surfrider is coordinating with the State to propose Rhode Island's waters to be tested 12 months of the year.

Open Space Preservation Recently, Rose Nulman park down by the Point Judith Lighthouse is on the road to becoming a permanent conservation easement. This comes as great news to those of us that have made many memories of watching and surfing the waves at "The Lighthouse". We still have a lot of work to do but it is a huge gift to the coastal community.

Clean Beaches Beach rakes are intended to clean seaweed off a beach but negligent behavior can lead to piles of seaweed and trash in piles in dunes or in the corners of beaches. Surfrider members have seen this type of negligence at Narragansett Town Beach and are continually in contact with the Town in order to come up with a solution.

Alternative Energy Sources Currently the state is wrestling with alternative energy sources (i.e. wind and wave energy) to provide the state with much needed green energy and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. The RI Chapter actively supports sustainable, renewable energy sources and hopes to continue the dialogue with the state to ensure environmental sound solutions.

Upcoming Campaigns

Stormwater Stencils
Join us this spring to apply stencils to stormwater drains reminding people that what goes into the storm drain, goes into our oceans.... | more |

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