At Save The Bay and Save The Lakes, we see Rhode Island’s waters as connected – as our investments in them should be. This is why we urge Rhode Islanders to vote “Yes on 5″ – the Green Economy Bond – on Nov. 3.
Narragansett Bay does not exist in isolation. Its health depends on the rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and wetlands that make up its entire watershed. The same is true of our inland waters: What happens in a lake or pond can affect the rivers downstream, while pollution and aquatic invasive species can move from one waterbody to another.
Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay and Watersheds Restoration Fund – which would receive $7 million from the Green Economy Bond – is important because it provides resources for the practical, on-the-ground work needed to protect water quality, restore habitats and address problems before they become even more difficult and expensive to solve.
Consider the growing threat of aquatic invasive plants. Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management identifies aquatic invasive species – primarily plants – as the largest non-pollutant cause of impairment in our state’s lakes and ponds. As of 2022, 73 Rhode Island lakes and ponds had invasive species in quantities sufficient to impair at least one beneficial use, such as boating, swimming, or fishing.
The aquatic invasive hydrilla illustrates how quickly such a problem can grow. First documented in Rhode Island at Indian Lake in 2023, hydrilla was soon found in Worden Pond, Rhode Island’s largest natural lake. A 2024 survey estimated that hydrilla covered approximately 149 acres there. By July 2026, DEM reported that the infestation had grown to more than 225 acres.
Hydrilla can crowd out native plants, alter habitat for fish and wildlife, and interfere with boating, fishing and swimming. Tiny fragments can also hitchhike on boats and equipment to new waterbodies, making early detection and treatment important.
The Restoration Fund has already supported this kind of work, including multi-year hydrilla treatment at Indian Lake. In 2025, a $155,000 Restoration Fund grant supported the second year of treatment there, with the goal of preventing the plant from spreading more widely.
But invasive species are only one part of the larger challenge facing Rhode Island’s waters – and only one of the ways the proposed Green Economy Bond could support them. Question 5 includes $7 million in matching grants for projects to restore and protect Narragansett Bay and its watersheds. Eligible projects include controlling invasive aquatic plants, improving stormwater management, restoring streams and aquatic habitat, reducing runoff pollution and reducing flood risks.
Those investments can address problems at their source. Stormwater management projects can help keep pollutants and excess nutrients out of rivers, lakes and the Bay. Stream and habitat restoration can improve conditions for fish and wildlife while strengthening the connections between our waterways. Projects that reduce flood risks can help communities better manage stormwater and protect people and property. And investments in watershed restoration can benefit both freshwater resources and Narragansett Bay, because they are part of the same connected system.
For Save The Bay and Save The Lakes, voting “Yes on 5” is about recognizing what Rhode Islanders already know: our waters are among our greatest shared resources. They support wildlife and habitat, provide places for swimming, fishing and boating, and contribute to the health and resilience of communities throughout our state. Protecting them requires more than reacting to problems after they become crises; it requires sustained, strategic investment in the places where restoration can protect water quality, habitat, recreation and communities.
Topher Hamblett is executive director of Save The Bay in Providence. is president of Save The Lakes in Chepachet, R.I.