CPWL
Citizens for the Preservation of Waterman Lake
From vast improvements to the dam to a fun-filled holiday party and so much to look forward to in the coming year. Our spring newsletter is full of information and celebrations important to all lake residents. Make sure to download your copy today!
Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the family of Thomas Samson, who passed away peacefully on Monday, February 17, 2025.
Tom and his late wife Evelyn lived in Glocester for over 60 years.
Relatives and friends are kindly invited to Thomas’s Life Celebration to be held with Visiting Hours on Friday, February 21, 2024, from 9 AM to 11 AM in the J. J. Duffy Funeral Home, 757 Mendon Road, Rt. 122, Cumberland.
Get your tickets today for the 2025 Spring Gala!
The Executive team at CPWL wanted to share this notice we received regarding the proposed development of ‘The Residences at Greenville Farms”, which entails the construction of 75 duplex units. A portion of this project would directly abut Waterman Lake on the East side of West Greenville Road. CPWL was notified due to the abutment of this development on property owned by CPWL. We thought it was important to share this notice with our membership in our continued commitment to keeping you informed about all happenings that impact our lake.
If any resident has concerns over this project, they should follow the instructions within the notice.
A PDF copy can be downloaded here.
Thanks to a very quick response time by the RI Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Town of Smithfield, the obstruction has been cleared from the culvert under West Greenville Road. We thank the RI DOT and the Town for acting on this so quickly.
Drawdown of the lake will begin Tuesday, November 5th. Water will drop about 12” per week, until we are at a level of between 60” and 72” below the spillway. We anticipate this level will be maintained until March 25, 2025, when we will begin to raise the water level.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email cpwl@cpwl.org
Historically, we have begun the lake drawdown on November 1st. As part of a pre-release inspection, we discovered the culvert under West Greenville Road is 90% blocked with debris. If we were to release water, it is likely it would overflow West Greenville Road within hours if not minutes.
While CPWL is not responsible for fixing this problem, we are impacted by it, and it will affect the drawdown timetable slightly.
Bob Eaton and Phil Viall met with a response team of Smithfield officials Thursday afternoon, including Emergency Management, Fire, Police, Public Works, Town Engineer, and Town Manager. As West Greenville Road is a state road, they will coordinate with the RI Department of Transportation in the cleaning of this culvert.
There was concern on the part of officials that if any downstream culverts are blocked, road wash out might be a problem downstream when the West Greenville Road culvert is cleared, and a sudden rush of water is released.
This problem will hopefully be resolved next week, and we will begin releasing water as we have historically. We will notify the membership before we begin the drawdown.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email cpwl@cpwl.org
Our Annual Fall Meeting will be held on October 30, 2024. NOTE that we are meeting in a NEW LOCATION: The Lakes, 720 Putnam Pike. People may gather beginning at 6:30 p.m. for light refreshments, and the meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. Carpooling is encouraged, as there is limited parking.
We will have our usual reports, as well as updates to several items. Come and see what goes on behind the scenes at CPWL
Hope to see you there!
From lake history to our successful summer, the CPWL Fall Newsletter is full of interesting and important information for lake residents. Make sure to download your copy today!
Water and Wetlands Inc. treated the lake on Monday morning, August 19th, with Copper Sulfate to eradicate the Cyanobacteria algae bloom. The treatment took about three hours.
There is no waiting period after treatment. Residents can resume all aquatic activities immediately (i.e. feel free to swim, boat, fish, etc., as you wish).
The proactive approach the Executive Committee adopted late last year worked well. From the first positive test from DEM until the lake was treated was 10 days. The permitting process takes 45 days; hence, that is why we began the process much earlier this year. While 10 days s is longer than we would have liked, the lake is safe again. We are discussing ways to shorten the lag time even more if this should happen again next summer.
Water and Wetlands, Inc. gave us a short report on their activities. The report has also been added to the “Reports” section on our Documents page.