The Private Company was incorporated in 1883 as the Bristol and Warren Water Works. The Barrington Water Company, incorporated in 1887, was acquired in 1933 and the following year the name was changed to Bristol County Water Company.
The Authority supplies potable water to Bristol County which is 25 square miles in area. The system lies southeast of the City of Providence at the northern end of Narragansett Bay. The community is largely residential in nature with some light industrial and commercial development. Bristol County is close to several major highways (I-95 and I-195) which provide easy access to Providence, Cape Cod and Boston.
The towns served by the Authority are Bristol, Warren and Barrington, Rhode Island. The estimated population served is 55,000. The number of customers served is 15,700. The Authority has experienced limited but steady customer growth in recent years. All customers are metered.
The Authority’s administrative offices are located at 49 Bradford Street, Bristol, Rhode Island. The Production and Distribution Departments operate from facilities at 472 Child Street, Warren, Rhode Island. Additional production facilities are located at the Company's Nayatt Road Well Station and treatment plant in Barrington, Rhode Island.
Average daily demand is about 4.0 MG. Demand has remained stable
over the past several years.
Raw water is obtained from four impounding reservoirs: Kickemuit,
Swansea, Anawan and Shad Factory, which have a combined storage
capacity of 460 million gallons, and from wells at the Nayatt
Road Plant in Barrington. Raw water is treated at the Child Street
Treatment Plant in Warren, and at the Nayatt Road Treatment Plant
in Barrington. In addition, since December 1998, already treated
water is purchased from the Providence supply and conveyed to
Bristol County through the so-called East Bay Pipeline. The construction
of the Pipeline was a major undertaking which started in 1988
and was completed 10 years later in 1998 for the purpose of carrying
additional but much needed drinking water across Narragansett
Bay from the city of Providence to Bristol County.