by PATRICE WOOD, NBC 10 NEWS
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — What makes Southern New England such a gem?
Narragansett Bay is always on the list.
The bay, once filled with toxins and sewage, has come a long way thanks to Save The Bay and many volunteers.
Save the Bay Executive Director Topher Hamblett has been part of the team fiercely guarding our precious, irreplaceable natural resource, Narragansett Bay, our rivers and streams, for much of his life — more than 30 years.
“I feel a sense of pride about it, but I also feel like I need to protect it still,” Hamblett said.
As a child growing up in Barrington, he remembers first becoming aware of pollution.
“It bothered me as a kid that I couldn’t go swimming in the beach in my community,” Hamblett said.
The abuse of Narragansett Bay and rivers began during the Industrial Revolution. There was a time when raw sewage flowed directly into the water.
Hamblett said the Providence River was in effect, an open sewer.
In 1970, Save the Bay was officially formed and went to work, pushing for laws to protect the water with fines for those who didn’t follow the rules, educating the public, organizing volunteer cleanups and monitoring.
And it’s working.
“Shellfishing is now allowed up into the Providence River now, which was unthinkable when we were young,” Hamblett said.
Cresent Park Beach in East Providence is open for swimming, with Sabin Point not far behind.
What grade would Hamblett put on the condition of the bay?
“That’s tough. It’s never been an A since I’ve been here. I think we’ve gone from an F to maybe a B.”…