$1.25M in federal funding awarded for Woonasquatucket River resiliency upgrades

PROVIDNECE – Members of the R.I. congressional delegation on Tuesday announced the city and the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council have been awarded a pair of federal grants totaling $1.25 million for resiliency upgrades along the Woonasquatucket River.

The funding is from the National Coastal Resilience Fund. It was developed by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., to restore and strengthen the natural infrastructure protecting coastal communities.

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“I’m very happy to see this funding go toward making the Woonasquatucket River watershed and Providence Riverwalk more resilient for the next generation of Rhode Islanders to enjoy,” Whitehouse said.

The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council was awarded a $250,000 grant to develop nature-based watershed resilience projects. The funding will help equip residents with tools to engage in green infrastructure projects and watershed-wide flood resilience projects to protect neighborhoods from flooding and extreme heat, improve water and habitat quality, and create local jobs. The council will also engage front-line residents through its New Voices Program and Providence’s Racial and Environmental Justice Committee’s Green Justice Zones Program.

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“The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council is especially thrilled to be awarded funds through Senator Whitehouse’s Coastal Resilience Fund because it will allow us, for the first time, to fully collaborate with the Providence Racial and Environmental Justice Committee joining the Nuevas Voces program to the Green Justice Zone Program,” said Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council Executive Director Alicia J. Lehrer. “Together, we will help build the power of the leaders in Providence’s Climate Justice communities to direct investment and change in their own neighborhoods that will improve quality of life and prevent further injury and loss due to climate change.”

The city was awarded $1 million to develop final designs to raise the Providence Riverwalk above future flood elevations, remove shoreline armoring, re-naturalize riverbanks and filter stormwater runoff.

“My administration has been committed to the development and investment in the Woonasquatucket Corridor, and this grant allows the city to continue that work and help naturalize the Providence Riverwalk, improving the resilience, habitat and quality of the Woonasquatucket River,” said Mayor Jorge O. Elorza.

In August, the R.I. congressional delegation announced $7.8 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program to support accessibility and design improvements and resiliency upgrades to the Providence Riverwalk and Waterplace Park.