The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has closed the Lower Providence River conditional shellfish area, known as Area 16E, after a break in an East Providence sewage line discharged roughly 800,000 gallons of untreated sewage into the river.
The closure took effect immediately and will remain in place until further notice, DEM said in an announcement Tuesday.
The break occurred in a 20-inch forced main pipe near the East Bay Bike Path and sent untreated sewage into the Providence River in the area of Watchemoket Cove. The cause of the break is unknown, and DEM’s Office of Compliance and Inspection is investigating.
The discharge has been significantly reduced but had not been eliminated as of the announcement, according to DEM. Staff at the East Providence Wastewater Treatment Facility were continuing work to stop the discharge and repair the leaking line.
Access to the East Bay Bike Path around Watchemoket Cove may be temporarily affected during the repairs, the agency said.
DEM warned that the discharge of untreated sewage into the river may create unsanitary conditions for shellfish harvest in the lower Providence River. The agency and the Rhode Island Department of Health will complete required water and shellfish testing, and the area will reopen to harvesting once results meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards for safe shellfish harvest.
DEM, the Department of Health, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council and shellfishing partners coordinate monitoring of state waters, which the agency said allows for a quick response when water quality changes.
For information on emergency and conditional shellfish closures, the public can call DEM’s 24-hour shellfishing hotline at 401-222-2900 or visit www.dem.ri.gov/shellfish, where an interactive shellfishing map and the annual notice on harvesting classifications are available.
