Rhode Island awards $1.1 million for stormwater project design and engineering

The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank has awarded nearly $1.1 million in grants to 10 communities to support the design and engineering of stormwater management projects aimed at addressing flooding, erosion and runoff challenges across the state.

Funded through the U.S. EPA’s Overflow Sewer Grant program, the $1,095,800 in awards will help municipalities develop projects that can reduce flooding impacts, improve water quality and advance resilience to increasingly intense rainfall events. According to the Infrastructure Bank, many communities face aging stormwater systems that were not designed for current precipitation patterns and often lack funding for the planning and engineering needed to move projects forward.

The grants will support a range of stormwater best management practices, including bioretention basins, water quality swales, tree filters, trench drains, sediment forebays and erosion control measures. Communities receiving funding include Bristol, Coventry, East Greenwich, Hopkinton, Jamestown, Middletown, New Shoreham, Pawtucket, Providence and West Warwick.

Several projects focus on reducing runoff from highly impervious municipal sites and parking lots, while others address roadway flooding, coastal erosion and stormwater impacts to sensitive water bodies. In Providence, funding will support green infrastructure improvements in the Washington Park neighborhood, including tree filters and expanded landscaped areas to increase infiltration and reduce runoff. In Middletown, proposed improvements near Green End Pond include bioretention systems and water quality swales designed to enhance stormwater treatment and infiltration before runoff leaves the site.

Infrastructure Bank Executive Director William Fazioli said the grants are intended to help communities move from identifying flooding problems to developing shovel-ready solutions that can compete for future construction funding.