Newport Comprehensive Land Use Plan - Existing Conditions | Page 188

Newport Comprehensive Land Use Plan

Stormwater Management

The chief threat to the quality of the Department's supply
is non-point source pollution. Non-point source pollution
is pollution that comes from unidentifiable sources in the
atmosphere and from the land's surface. Such pollution is
washed by stormwater into storm drains and water bodies.
Stormwater is comprised of rainwater that has picked up
debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants as it runs along
the built environment. In Newport, the stormwater flows
through a network of different pipes and swales to one of
fifty outfalls without being treated. The City contracts
United Water to maintain the stormwater drainage pipes
and catch basins on an annual budget of $700,000
according to the CIP. Map 13-3 identifies where these
drainage pipes are located.

Agricultural run-off, and other
non-point source pollution,
continues to be a significant
concern in maintaining water
quality. The NWD maintains a
Water Quality Protection Plan
and Source Water Assessment
Plan as components of the
NWD’s Water Supply System
Management Plan

The NWD has worked with Middletown and Portsmouth in developing public awareness of the importance of
protection of the public water supply, as well as acquiring buffers through fee simple and conservation easements.
The NWD is working to improve signage and awareness in the watershed and water supply pond areas. NWD is
deemed to have the rights of an abutter in connection with development in the watershed areas.
Newport is considered to be a regulated small MS4, or
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. An MS4 is a
conveyance system that is comprised of drainage systems,
catch basins, gutters, storm drains, and man-made
channels. As a regulated MS4, Newport submits an annual
report to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management (RIDEM) detailing the stormwater that had
been discharged. The State uses these reports to track
compliance with the Rhode Island Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (RIPES) Storm Water General Permit.
There are six requirements fulfilled by the annual report
that regulated MS4’s are required to comply with. These
include public outreach and education on storm water
impacts, illicit discharge detection, stormwater runoff
control on construction and post-construction sites, and
pollution prevention for municipal operations.

Page 13-10

Scheduled improvements
planned for the water
infrastructure include the
construction of a new Lawton
Valley Treatment Plant and
treatment process upgrades to
the Station 1 Plant, completion of
the conversion to a radio read
metering system and ongoing
improvements to the distribution
piping system.

Draft Existing Conditions (March 2016)