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EPA Provides $230,000 for Drinking Water Security to Providence and Pawtucket Water Supply Boards

Release Date: 07/31/2002
Contact Information: Andrew Spejewski, EPA Press Office, 617-918-1014

SCITUATE, R.I. –Flanked by state and local officials at the Providence Water Supply Board's Scituate Reservoir water treatment plant, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced two grants of $115,000 each to support drinking water security planning and emergency preparedness in Rhode Island. The grants went to the Providence Water Supply Board (which serves 60 percent of Rhode Island) and the Pawtucket Water Supply Board.

The grants will be used to assess the vulnerability of drinking water systems to attack or other emergencies, to design security improvements, and prepare emergency response plans. Recent federal legislation -- the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 – requires utilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and prepare emergency response plans according to specific timetables.

"The Providence Water Supply Board has been very active in emergency planning and preparedness,"said Linda Murphy, director of EPA New England's Office of Ecosystem Protection, speaking at a news conference in Scituate. "These grants will help continue that progress and ensure that the Providence and Pawtucket utilities can maintain the delivery of safe drinking water to the people of Rhode Island."

"Providence Water will use the proceeds of the EPA grant to design security improvements and prepare an emergency response plan, since we have already completed our vulnerability assessments," said Robert J. Kilduff, general manager/chief engineer for the Providence Water Supply Board. "We have always been cognizant of safety and security, and our security enhancement program actually began four years ago. Of course, since Sept. 11th, we have modified our approach, to more comprehensively address the various aspects of terrorism and ensure that we continue to safeguard our resources which provide drinking water to over 60% of the State of Rhode Island."

"It is essential to the mission of the Pawtucket Water Supply Board to do everything possible to provide a constant supply of safe drinking water to our customers," said Pamela Marchand, chief engineer and general manager for the Pawtucket Water Supply Board. "The Pawtucket Water Supply Board, like all other water utilities, increased security for all of our facilities and water supply following 9/11. The EPA funds will allow us to hire experts specially trained in water system security to thoroughly review our entire supply, treatment, and distribution system. We will take immediate action to begin the evaluation process so that any recommended security improvements can be implemented as soon as possible."

In the wake of September 11, EPA has been working closely with states and utilities to improve drinking water security. In addition to preparedness planning grants like those announced today, EPA has trained more than 1,000 operators at 16 workshops across the region.

Today's grants are part of $53 million EPA is awarding nationwide for drinking water security at large systems. EPA is also awarding $5 million to states to enhance state water security coordination, and expects to make approximately $17 million available to states to assist small- and medium-sized systems with drinking water security.

The Providence Water Supply Board supplies water to more than 600,000 consumers-- 60 percent of Rhode Islanders -- at an average of 66 million gallons per day. The Providence Water Supply Board provides water distribution services to the cities of Providence and Cranston and to the towns of Johnston and North Providence on a retail basis. The Providence Board serves on a wholesale basis the city of East Providence, parts of the city of Warwick, towns of Lincoln, Smithfield, Greenville, Bristol County (the towns of Barrington, Warren and Bristol) and, through the Kent County Water Authority, the cities of Warwick and Cranston and the towns of West Warwick, East Greenwich, North Kingstown, Coventry, and Scituate.

The Pawtucket Water Supply Board serves a population of over 100,000 and provides 13 million gallons per day. The retail service area includes the Cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls and the Valley Falls section of the Town of Cumberland, and water is sold wholesale to the towns of Cumberland and Seekonk.