A Water Quality Element for the Extension of the Salt Ponds Special Area Management Plan to Quonochontaug, Winnapaug (Brightmans) and Maschaug Ponds

The Salt Ponds Project scientific research and management efforts were designed to address the management issues typical to barrier beach-lagoon systems. It was anticipated that the finds of the project would be applied to the management of similar estuarine systems in Rhode Island and elsewhere. This paper presents findsings and recommendations relating to water quality and land use for the watersheds of Quonochontaug Pond, Winnapaug Pond, and Maschaug Ponds. With the inclusion of these waterbodies into the SAM Plan framework, all of the barrier beach-coastal lagoon ecosystems of the south shore will come under a plan specifically designed to protect the water quality of these unique, beautiful, and product estuaries and their surroundings. It is hoped that these findings and recommendations will provide a necessary step towards the extension of the SAM Plan along the entire south shore, and the development of a coastal element in the Westerly Comprehensive Plan