National Water Summary 1988-89--Floods and Droughts: Rhode Island and Massachusetts

from Water Supply Paper 2375

By Patrick N. Walker and S. William Waddle, Jr.

Rhode Island

Following establishment of the first Christian settlement in Providence in 1636, population centers of Rhode Island developed first adjacent to Narragansett Bay and then along major rivers. During the American Industrial Revolution in the 1800's and early 1900's, the rivers provided water for power, processing, and waste disposal to numerous mills, which were built near every major stream.  Concentration of population centers in coastal areas and along rivers, and construction of many buildings in flood-prone areas, eventually resulted in occasional loss of life and damage to mills and other structures due to tidal and river flooding.

Infrequent, extended droughts have caused economic loss by decreasing crop yields and farm income and by decreasing the water supply needed by commerce and industry. Because water currently (1988) is used in Rhode Island primarily for public water supply rather than for agriculture, the effect of droughts on water supply has been the principal concern of its inhabitants. In 1985, 69 percent of the freshwater used in Rhode Island was for public supply; less than 4 percent was used for irrigating crops (U.S. Geological Survey, 1990).

Rhode Island encompasses 1,212 square miles, of which about 13 percent is inland water. Inland water includes 357 freshwater ponds, lakes, and impoundments that constitute an area of 29 square miles (Rhode Island Water Resources Board, 1970); the saline waters of Narragansett Bay account for the remainder. Most of the impoundments were constructed during the 1800's to provide water supply to mills during dry weather. Since the turn of the century, new impoundments have been constructed mainly to provide for public water supply.

Quantitative measures of floods and droughts are obtainable from records of precipitation and streamflow. In this report, floods and droughts are assessed largely on the basis of streamflow records compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey. Systematic collection of streamflow records in Rhode Island by the Geological Survey began in 1929 when a continuous-recording gage was installed on the Blackstone River at Woonsocket. Broader geographic coverage began during 1939-41 when eight additional gages were installed on other major rivers. Precipitation records, which are more extensive than streamflow records, are available for more than 100 years at some stations in Rhode Island.

Massachusetts

Frequent weather changes and abundant precipitation in Massachusetts result from frontal systems or storms that move across the continent and exit through the northeastern United States. Dominant airmasses thar affect national weather patterns are polar continental, tropical maritime, and, to a lesser degree, polar maritime. Widespread flooding is caused by intense rainfall and snowmelt, northeasters, and tropical storms. A combination of intense rainfall and snowmelt caused the floods of March 1936, March 1968, and March-April 1987. Hurricanes or tropical storms caused the floods of November 1927, September 1938, and August 1955. The floods of 1936 and 1938 affected the largest area of the State. Droughts of 1929-32, 1939-44, and 1980-83 were widespread but not as severe as the 1961-69 drought, which was the severest on record. Evaluation of the present drought ( 1985-88) in the Housatonic River basin is incomplete because this event may continue; however, it presently ranks equal in severity to the drought of 1929-32.

Floods and droughts have affected the water-management and planning activities of several State and Federal agencies. Water management at the State level is coordinated by the Massachusetts Water Resources Commission, which recently adopted water-use and supply-management measures. Potential drought conditions are reviewed by State and Federal agencies. Development in the flood plain is controlled by the State and most local governments.east affect Massachusetts.

USGS Water

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