The Town of Smithfield’s Department of Public Works has constructed a sand/salt storage facility on the grounds of the existing highway department property.  The purpose of the salt storage facility is to house sand and salt year round and keep it covered from the elements, such as rain and snow. 

Recently the United States Environmental Protection Agency, US EPA, regulated that all municipalities, state and federal agencies have proper storage for their sand and salt stockpiles used for road treatment during winter months. 

During 2000, the town’s Public Works, Engineering and Planning Departments sought out grant money with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, (RI DEM), and the US EPA to offset the cost to construct such a facility.  The town signed a grant agreement with these two agencies consisting of items the town must complete in order for the federal government to aid in paying for $66,000 of the total construction cost of the salt storage facility.  The facility is now complete! 

The Public Works Department anticipates having the sand/salt loaded into the structure sometime in the summer of 2002. 

The project was started with the help of some local agencies such as, The Woonasquatucket Watershed Council, the Smithfield Conservation Commission and the Department of Environmental Management.  The project really gained momentum when each of the agencies visited the site and saw what impacts the Public Works Facility grounds was having on nearby wetlands. Rainfall that collects from all of the buildings and pavement areas on the property forms a gulley that constantly erodes a channel of earth into the wetlands.  Once it was apparent the effects the erosion was having on the wetlands, a plan for action was devised.  Spearheaded by former Assistant Town Engineer, Joseph A. Casali, P.E., Town Engineer, Richard B. Geldard, P.E., Deputy Public Works Director, Robert N. Lamoureux and the current Assistant Town Engineer, Kevin Cleary, E.I.T., a plan was devised to cover all of the sand/salt storage on the site at that time.

The Public Works Department broke ground during January of 2002, after signing an Agreement with the State in the fall of 2000. 

The first task was to remove the existing 60,000 tons of sand and gravel that was present on the site and temporarily relocate some of the material. 

The next task was to grade the lot in such a manner that would allow the velocity of the runoff to be significantly reduced during rainstorm events. 

Not long after the lot was leveled and graded, the department noticed a decrease in the amount of storm water that was going to the wetlands, and they also realized that a significant amount of sediments entering the wetlands had also been reduced.  After the lot had been graded and compacted, the Public Works Department was ready to prepare the base for the salt storage facility.  Public Works prepared the ground by installing an asphalt pad for the contractor to build the structure on. 

Once the asphalt pad was paved, the center location for the salt storage facility was chosen.  Construction began in June of 2002. 

The contractor began setting up the reinforcement steel for the concrete foundation wall and not long after that the foundation walls were finished and the roof of the structure was well under way. 

The complete salt storage facility has a covered dome shaped roof complete with an entry way large enough for a front end loader, a ventilation fan and electrical lighting for night-time visibility.  The facility will house road salt keeping it covered from the elements and also keeping if out of the groundwater and wetlands. 

During 2001, Deputy Public Works Director, Robert N. Lamoureux, Assistant Town Engineer, Kevin Cleary, E.I.T. and Town Planner, Christopher V. Hawkins applied for another grant of $72,000 with US EPA and RI DEM under the Non-Point Source Program to further complement the salt storage facility. 

The purpose of this grant is to install a complete closed drainage system consisting of approximately a dozen catch basins, an oil/water/sediment separator and a drainage detention pond that will control the runoff generated from the site and allow it to discharge into the wetlands at a controlled rate and also much cleaner than how it enters the wetlands today.  Upon final completion of the grant Agreement with the state and federal governments, the Public Works Department will begin construction on this drainage system and the Highway Garage Facility will be in complete compliance with federal EPA and the state DEM regulations. 

The last portion of the drainage project will be a full wetland restoration project which will consist of removing years of sediment from the wetland complex and the surrounding buffer area and then re-vegetating the impacted area that has been subject to years of uncontrolled runoff discharge. 

The purpose of the overall Public Works Facility plan is to improve water quality within the Woonasquatucket Watershed by reducing sediments, water bound pollutants and other debris from enter Smithfield’s waterways and possibly contaminating mankind’s most valuable resource-water.  If you are interested in accessing more information about the Public Works Facility or volunteering in the wetlands restoration project you can contact either Jim Suzman at 233-1034, or Seth Lemoine  at 233-1041.