Jan Reitsma.
(Tom Croke)
Construction on the Narragansett Bay Commission’s $550 million combined sewer overflow project, among the largest construction projects in Rhode Island’s history, has begun.
Only weeks after receiving approval for phase one of the project from state Department of Environmental Management, the Narragansett Bay Commssion officially broke ground today. (Monday, June 4.)
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The entire plan will be undertaken in three phases over the next two decades. At the heart of the project is the construction of two large deep-rock tunnels measuring about six miles in total length.
“Our approval represents an important milestone for the Narragansett Bay Commission’s combined sewer overflow (CSO) project,” said Jan Reistma, director DEM. “This plan provides an environmentally sound way to control CSO discharges and as a result, future generations of Rhode Islanders will enjoy major water quality improvements in Narragansett and Urban Providence Rivers.”
Specifically, DEM has approved the construction of the three-mile “main spine tunnel,” which will be 26 feet in diameter and 250 feet underground. The plans call for the tunnel to start at Fields Point, run under Allen’s Avenue to South Main Street, then taking a westerly turn along the Woonsaquatucket, ending at the Foundry site. The first phase, expected to be complete in 2007, is estimated to cost about $227 million.
“What we are looking to do is get the most bang for the earliest buck,” said Jamie Samons, public affairs director for the Narragansett Bay Commission. “In the first phase completed we will have captured more than 40 percent of our coverage area.”
Created by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1980, the Narragansett Bay Commission operates two wastewater facilities – Bucklin Point in East Providence and Fields Point in Providence. The commission serves the cities of Providence, Central Falls, Pawtucket, Cranston, and East Providence as well as the town of Johnston, North Providence, Cumber-land, Lincoln and Smithfield.
According to Narragansett Bay Commission officials, phase one has been divided into 10 separate construction contracts, with the first, The Moshassuck River Interceptor Project, beginning last month. This contract, located in the area of South Water and India Streets, was moved ahead of the tunnel construction to coordinate with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation on the relocation of Route 195.
Narragansett Bay Commission officials expect construction on the main spine tunnel to begin in the fall.
According to Samons, some of the funding for the first phase of construction is coming through bond money remaining from the creation of the Bay Commission, while other money is coming through the clean water bond, and still other funding is coming in the form of zero interest loans. The remaining portion will come through user charges, Samons said. Earlier this year, the Public Utilities Commission approved a 25 percent rate increase for Narragansett Bay Commission customers. In all, by the end of the 20-year projects, Samons said rates could double.
Development of the plan is a requirement of the federal Clean Water Act. According to the Narragansett Bay Commission, each year 86 Combined Sewer Overflows – each overwhelming the one pipe created to handle both sewage and rain water- release an estimated 2.2 billion gallons of untreated water into Narragansett Bay and its tributaries, including the Blackstone, Moshassuck, Providence, Seekonk, Woonasquatucket, and West Rivers.
The Narragansett Bay Commission said that as a result of the project, the yearly discharging rate could be reduced from the current annual overflows to no more than four.
“For many years the Narragansett Bay Commission has been working with engineering professionals and community stakeholders to determine the best solution in our district,” said Paul Pinault, executive director of the Narragansett Bay Commission. “This project addressed that last major remaining point source pollution problem in the urban rivers and upper Narragansett Bay, and we are optimistic about the water quality benefits.”
The process of construction is one that has never before been done in Rhode Island. The plans call for the tunnel to be built underground without disturbing traffic above. That decision was made after considering several options and was selected by a group of stakeholders studying the issue.
Samons said the plan was selected because it had the lowest maintenance cost and would result it good water quality because most of the storm flows that are stored in the tunnel are also provided with a high level of treatment.
