Can we see our toes? Water Clarity in Narragansett Bay

Purpose

The Water Clarity chapter of NBEP’s 2017 State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed was a compilation of multiple types of data. How the data were presented generated discussion among partners to find the best way to communicate water clarity changes to a broader audience. In 2020, NBEP established the Water Clarity Working Group in response to these discussions. The working group has two goals: (1) improve understanding of water clarity in the bay and (2) explore how to better use water clarity measurements in management decisions. This update addresses the first goal, and starts to explore the second.

The purpose of this report is to inform our audience on changes in water clarity, stimulate discussion among partners about how to advance the use of water clarity in management decisions, and to identify areas for further research. The audience for this piece is anyone who is interested in water clarity, particularly environmental managers, researchers, and the interested public.

  

Acknowledgements

This update would not be possible without the Water Clarity Working Group. NBEP thanks them profusely for presenting their work to our partners. This report updates the Water Clarity chapter in NBEP’s 2017 State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed. We thank the 60 plus partners who contributed to that work.  

  

Funding

The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program was supported by the agreement CE00A00967 awarded by the EPA to Rogers William University (RWU) under section 320 of the Clean Water Act. 

Although the information in this document has been developed with support from the EPA, it has not undergone the EPA’s publications review process and therefore, may not reflect the views of EPA and no official endorsement is inferred. The viewpoints expressed do not necessarily represent those of RWU or EPA. Mention of trade names, commercial products, or causes do not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.