What You Can Do

As the Smiley Administration prioritizes climate resiliency adaptation, community members can help play a part in Providence becoming more climate resilient:

1. Understand your flood risk and gather the supplies you will need in case of an emergency. https://www.providenceri.gov/pema/storms/
2. Keep storm drains clear. Never dump anything near a storm drain or water drainage ditch. These areas have no water treatment and lead directly to rivers and streams, leading to possible runoff contamination of our water sources.
3. Keep it clean. Litter thrown and left on the streets will get washed into our water system one way or another. This is how waste gets into or waterways and eventually ends up in the ocean.
4. Scoop the poop. Clean up after your pet. We don’t want poop on our shoes, and we definitely don’t want poop in our water system.
5. Clean up clippings. Grass clippings and other bits of yard waste left on sidewalks can clog up storm drains and cause neighborhood flooding. Grass clippings of an inch or less in length can be left on your lawn where they will decompose quickly and nourish the soil with nitrogen. Longer clippings and other yard waste can be used as mulch or compost.
6. Take the Pesticide Free PVD pledge. Children, pets and wildlife are especially vulnerable to the potential negative effects of pesticides. When it rans, pesticides and fertilizers flow into the storm drains and contaminate local water bodies. Take the pledge to be pesticide free and learn more about what you can do.
7. Plant a tree. Trees can play an important role in stormwater management by reducing the amount of runoff that enters stormwater and combined sewer systems. Connect with the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program to request a tree to be planted in front of your home.
8. Capture and reuse the rain. Disconnecting your downspout from the stormwater system helps improve water quality and provides a household with water which can be used for gardening. Buy a rain barrel, make your own, or check out URI’s resources for a number of other approaches to saving the runoff from your roof. Adding rain barrels to homes, encouraging more community gardening, more permeable surfaces, incorporating green infrastructure as much as possible, and planting trees all contributes to building a greener and more resilient community.
9. Redirect rain to a garden. Rain gardens and other green spaces give stormwater a safe place to go. They absorb water, and can be strategically placed to slow the flow of stormwater as it heads to a drainage point. For more information on how to create a rain garden, click here.
10. Connecting with neighbors and community. Connecting with neighbors and knowing you are their likely first responder and they are yours. Check in with your neighbors before and after storms can make a world of difference.
11. Gather data with community science projects. If it is safe to go out, projects like RainSnap and MyCoast are valuable tools for gathering data and sharing information and photos of local impacts of storms. Both projects provide community science opportunities for volunteers to actively engage in collecting critical data and information that we can use to inform planning and policy decisions.
    • RainSnap: RainSnap volunteers equipped with an umbrella and smartphone camera, venture out to designated green infrastructure sites during rain storms. They capture photos and videos documenting relevant environmental conditions during heavy rain or storm events. Then, the volunteers upload their video reports to the RainSnap website, contributing to the collective knowledge base. These observations serve as valuable data points.
    • MyCoast: “Snap the shore, track the change.” Use the MyCoast app to capture photographs of King Tide events and coastal shoreline changes. The photos help to better understand the issues of today and support efforts to validate, analyze, and communicate coastal vulnerability and associated planning initiatives throughout our coastal neighborhoods.