October 1, 1B56 



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Statement of 

 ^ Division of Sanitary Engineering 



Rhode Island Department of Health 



On Proposed Hurricane Prevention For Narragansett Bay 



Prepared for hearing of Division Engineer, Corps of Engineers, U. S. 

 Army at Providence on October 1, 1956. 



This statement is submitted as a result of the receipt, very 

 recently, from the office of the Division Engineer, Corps of ^.ngineers , 

 U. S. Army, of information relative to studies of hurricane barriers 

 in Narragansett Bay. It appears that these studies have led to the 

 belief that two plans have particular merit: 



1. An Upper Bay Barrier at Fox Point with sluice gates to pass 

 normal river and tidal flows 



2. Lower Bay Barriers constructed of rock, v/ith navigation 

 opening, which it has been estimated will restrict the tidal flow under 

 ordinary conditions up to thirty five percent. 



The proposal for the Lower Bay Barriers is of great concern to 

 the Division of Sanitary Engineering because of the affect the reduction 

 in tidal flow will have on the state's water pollution control program, 

 particularly in Upper Narragansett Bay areas. 



Sev/age and industrial waste treatment works constructed for water 

 pollution control are ordinarily designed on the premise that the 

 treated v/astes when discharged v;ill be diluted by the receiving water, 

 the greater the dilution the better. To provide such a high degree of 

 treatment that no dilution would be necessary would be impractical if 

 not impossible; the cost of such treatment would be prohibitive. Since 

 the sewer systems of such cities as Providence and Pawtucket are 

 designed to receive storm water as well as sev.age, much of the sewage 

 #is discharged into the waters of the state untreated during storms 



G-21 



