The Seekonk River: A case history of estuarine management

Since the turn of the century, large amounts of money and effort have been spent on water pollution abatement. To begin to evaluate how successful this expenditure has been, the study examines the case history of one urban estuary: the Seekonk River located at the head of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. Changes in uses, water quality and management efforts from the late 1800s to 1984 are reviewed. The study concludes that the elimination of nuisance conditions in the estuary followed a six stage management process which was centered on establishing and achieving specific goals. This process was interrupted in the 1970s with the shift to a more centralized approach to water pollution control.