State and local officials scrambled to deal with rising waters from the Pawtuxet River yesterday, as the fourth consecutive day of rain caused it to overflow in certain places.

By 4:30 p.m. yesterday, the levee at the Warwick Sewer Authority (WSA) stood only 3 feet above the water according to WSA Assistant Superintendent Pat Doyle.

“We’re just going to keep our fingers crossed at this point,” said WSA Executive Director Janine Burke, who was vacationing in Fort Myers, Fla. but in an airport to return home.

If the plant were to be flooded, it would cause a significant backflow of sewage into the Pawtuxet River. With that in mind, Burke asked homeowners to severely curtail their water usage. She asked people to refrain from doing laundry, take less showers and, if possible, to not use the dishwasher.

Doyle said he was confident that the levee would hold up.

“I think we’re all set. Even if it rose another foot, I don’t think the treatment center would be jeopardized,” said Doyle.

Drenched and standing alongside fellow Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian said yesterday during a press conference, that as of 1:30 p.m., the situation was under control.

“We’ve had some specific areas where we’ve had to close down some roads…but we haven’t had to order any evacuations yet,” said Avedisian.

Avedisian said roads alongside Pawtuxet River at the Cranston border and West Warwick border were closed for safety precautions.

“The DOT [Department of Transportation] is inspecting roads and bridges to see if we have to be proactive,” said Avedisian with respect to closing them.

The press conference was held alongside the Elmwood Bridge on Route 1 next to the Pawtuxet River. The river had reached an overflow point yesterday. According to the National Weather Service, the river was 10 feet above normal levels – a record. According to a weather service graph, normal flow is 5 feet and it was 15 feet yesterday.

In sum, the storm had dropped 3.67 inches of rain on the area over the last three days. Scores of homes and businesses alongside the river experienced flooding in their basements and yards.

Cranston was forced to order the evacuations of 10 homes located on Perkins Avenue yesterday.

“This is reaching historic levels,” said Fung.

“This is not a normal event we usually encounter.”

Fung said that the city department of public works had sand bags available to any residents who needed them in order to prevent flooding onto their property.

While Warwick didn’t need to order any evacuations as of yesterday afternoon, Avedisian said that anyone who lived alongside or near the Pawtuxet River Bridge should evacuate their homes if possible, reasoning it was better to take safety precautions sooner rather than later.

There were also reports yesterday that the Pawtuxet Valley Bridge in East Natick, located at the West Warwick and Warwick border had partially collapsed. Barrels were placed on the bridge to restrict travel over it.

Similarly, the Arctic Dam located in West Warwick was also under stress, and there were reports that it could fail at any moment. In an e-mail sent after yesterday’s press conference, Avedisian said he didn’t think it posed a significant threat to Warwick.

“I have had several conversations with Chief Dave Smith of Rhode Island EMA about the dam in West Warwick. They presently have engineers looking at the dam to see if they can relieve pressure,” said Avedisian.

“If the dam did fail, we would see a surge in water and already affected areas would be under more stress. We do not believe that it would be any more distressing than the situation that we already have.”

General Treasurer Frank Caprio, who is also a candidate for governor, called for Rhode Island to declare a state of emergency.

“Massachusetts has already declared a state of emergency and they are under similar conditions,” said Caprio.

“The Pawtuxet River is now at a record high level with more rain expected. It's time to declare the entire state an emergency area and get all the residents the help they need to deal with this crisis,” said Caprio.

The move, Caprio argued, would allow the state to access federal funds to cover expenses that occurred as a result of the funding.