This map represents areas where water, such as from rainfall, cannot naturally soak into the ground. When water cannot soak into an impervious surface, it runs off downhill towards the nearest water body, often picking up and carrying pollutants along with it. Not only do these data help with modeling potential water pollution sources, but also can be used to quickly visualize more densely and less densely populated areas, and model the sprawl of human development.

More detailed information about how this map was created, and the data featured within, is available in this map's metadata record (this feature is coming shortly!)

The following viewing options are available for this map:

Select a Community:
Barrington Bristol Burrillville Central Falls Charlestown Coventry Cranston Cumberland East Greenwich East Providence Exeter Foster Glocester Hopkinton Jamestown Johnston Lincoln Little Compton Middletown Narragansett New Shoreham Newport North Kingstown North Providence North Smithfield Pawtucket Portsmouth Providence Richmond Scituate Smithfield South Kingstown Tiverton Warren Warwick West Greenwich West Warwick Westerly Woonsocket

Select a Watershed:
Abbott Run Aquidneck Island-Frontal Atlantic Ocean Ashaway River Barden Reservoir-Ponaganset River Barrington River-Warren River Beaver River Big River Block Island Branch River Chepachet River Chipuxet River-Pawcatuck River Clear River Emerson Brook-Blackstone River Greenwich Bay Headwaters South Branch Pawtuxet River Hunt River Lower East Passage Lower Fivemile River Lower Moosup River Lower Pawcatuck River Lower West Passage Lower Wood River Mill River Moshassuck River Moswansicut Pond-Huntinghouse Brook Mount Hope Bay Ninigret Pond-Frontal Block Island Sound North Branch Pawtuxet River Palmer River Pawtuxet River Peters River-Blackstone River Pettaquamscutt River-Frontal Atlantic Ocean Pocassett River Point Judith Pond-Frontal Block Island Sound Quaduck Brook Quequechan River Sakonnet Point-Frontal Rhode Island Sound Sakonnet River Saugatucket River Scituate Reservoir Seekonk River-Providence River South Branch Pawtuxet River Ten Mile River Tomaquag Brook-Pawcatuck River Upper East Passage Upper Fivemile River Upper Moosup River Upper Narragansett Bay Upper Pachaug River Upper West Passage Upper Wood River Usquepaug River Usquepaug River-Pawcatuck River Westport River-Frontal Rhode Island Sound Woonasquatucket River

Want to choose your own custom area? Explore this Map (Interactive Map)

For adventurous users (this is still being tested out): View this map using Google Earth

And for experienced users: View this map using your GIS