Unlikely group to study island wastewater plant

If Peter Kyriakides sees a weather report for rain, he knows it is going to be a bad day at the Atlantic Beach Club & Pavilion in Middletown. If the rain itself doesn’t keep beachgoers away, runoff carrying contaminants that pollute the beach likely will.
For years Aquidneck Island has struggled to manage its sewage and storm water, much of which spills into Narragansett Bay during heavy rain storms. Save The Bay reported that the R.I. Department of Health issued 36 no-swimming advisories in 2009 for island beaches. The source of the pollution is debatable, but Save The Bay says much of it stems from runoff.
In an effort to lower the number of advisories, improve the quality of life and address a multitude of environmental concerns, the Newport County Chamber of Commerce is launching a regional wastewater-management study. Paid for with a $485,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the study will explore the feasibility of building a new wastewater plant on the island, creating a regional system, reactivating a plant at Raytheon Co. in Portsmouth and upgrading the existing infrastructure.
“If you don’t pay attention to the infrastructure you’re never going to be able to retain the businesses and industries that are here and for certain you’ll never be able to encourage new businesses to come,” said Robert Silva, chair of the Middletown Development Advisory Committee.
Kyriakides knows that all too well. The club he co-owns with his brother sits next to Easton’s Beach and across the street from a pumping station. Heavy rains overflow the pumping station and pond across the street and water carrying contaminants rushes over the road and onto the beach. Almost without fail, the Department of Health steps in and issues a no-swimming advisory. While technically not a ban on swimming, bathers pay attention. And even though the contaminants are often swept quickly out to sea, hours or days can pass until new tests are run and the advisory lifted. And each additional advisory discourages another potential customer.
“You just cannot overcome the psychological problem that the beach is contaminated,” Kyriakides said.
That public perception leads Middletown to become a less attractive destination and hurts in the long run, Kyriakides said. With tourism and hospitality the island’s largest industry, the Chamber decided to become involved, said its executive director, Keith Stokes. The Chamber already considers economic development a major priority and runs a nonprofit foundation to facilitate obtaining grants like the one for wastewater-management planning. Stokes said the Chamber can also act as a neutral party to develop an overarching plan for the island’s three communities that often view wastewater management differently.
“We’re the one entity that can be fair and impartial in trying to balance the needs of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth,” he said.
The communities, with a combined population of about 56,500, may need a referee. More than 200 Portsmouth residents turned out at a Town Council meeting last month. Town Councilman Jim Seveney said that the vast majority stood to oppose a plan that suggested installing a municipal sewer system for the first time. On the opposite end of the island, Newport has been working for more than three decades to unravel a system that combined storm-water runoff and sewage and can tax the wastewater-treatment plant during heavy rains. And in all three communities, residents are concerned about the cost of installing a new system.
But Evan Smith, president of the Newport County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the communities will need to work together to solve the problem. And it would be in the best interests of the municipalities to cooperate with each other, Smith said. He estimated that local governments lose between $5,000 and $10,000 in parking fees for every day the beach closes. Residents and businesses also lose out.
And it is frustrating to environmental organizations like Save The Bay, which has established a partnership with the Chamber to help conduct the study. Save The Bay Director of Advocacy John Torgan said traditionally people see business groups and environmental organizations pitted against each other, as corporations fear environmental regulation will lead to higher costs. Not so here, where Save The Bay supports the development of a regional approach to wastewater and storm-water management.
“In this case the business community and the environmental community recognize that this is a critical infrastructure investment and it’s overdue,” Torgan said. “We believe the outcome will be a cleaner, healthier bay and people will be able to use and enjoy the bay as a result of these investments.
“And the business community sees this as a way to sustain their own growth,” he said. •