Bristol County Water Authority

Detailed History

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Tri-Town Water Committee

1978 - 1983

The three town councils of Barrington, Bristol and Warren commenced discussions on the topic of water in 1977 and 1978 inasmuch as their respective 20-year water franchises with BCWC would expire in May of 1978.

There was also a growing concern related to the quality of the water supply and a certainty that future supply could not adequately meet the public’s demand for water. The potential depression of economic and residential development in Bristol County became a serious consideration.

The town councils officially formulated a three-town study committee in 1978 comprised of two local officials from each of the three towns. The committee was charged to perform a publicly sponsored engineering study in order to establish clear information on the subject of water, current and future.

The committee engaged the services of Weston and Sampson Engineers, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts, to assist in its evaluation of the BCWC system.

The major actions taken by the Tri-Town Water Study Committee and the three town councils from 1978 to 1983, plus the actions and proposals of the private Bristol County Water Company during this period, were as follows:

1. Weston and Sampson Engineers presented a comprehensive two-part engineering report on the BCWC system in 1979. Its Providence pipeline cost estimate was $20 million projected to 1982.

2. The State of Rhode Island’s Water Resources Board (WRB) performed a detailed engineering study in 1980 on behalf of the Tri-Town for a Providence Water System transmission supply line to serve both the counties of Bristol and Newport.

3. BCWC commissioned a hydrogeological study in 1981 in an attempt to locate new ground water to supplement its water supply. This effort did not produce any significant, dependable results.

4. BCWC proposed to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in 1982 that it use the Turner Reservoir in East Providence as a new water supply.

The Tri-Town Committee and town councils rejected this proposal as the Rhode Island Health Department identified the Turner Reservoir as being an unsafe water supply due to upstream industrial discharges into a Ten Mile River that runs through the reservoir.

5. In August of 1982, the three town councils directed the Tri-Town Committee and their respective town solicitors to formally intervene at the PUC hearings of the BCWC’s request to increase its revenues by 48%.

The final PUC decision granted a 28% increase in revenues for BCWC. This increase, along with previous ones since 1976, allowed for annualized increased costs to customers in excess of 29% on the average, with no progress towards solving the water supply problem.

6. As an adjunct to the water rate increase, BCWC proposed to PUC that its water supply problem be solved by the three towns using their property tax powers to support the cost of building a cross-bay water transmission line connection to the Providence water system.

The BCWC proposed that a 24" pipeline would be:

a. A supplemental water supply used only to meet peak summer demands. The present water supply would be the primary supply of water with all associated property valuations to continue to make up BCWC’s rate base upon which its rate of return and depreciation allowance would be calculated.

b. Leased to BCWC for $1 per year.

c. Fully supported by local property taxes.

Current operational expenses would continue to be funded by water customers along with new O & M costs of the new 24" pipeline.

BCWC estimated the cost of the 24" supplemental water supply cross-bay pipeline project to be $19 million.

7. The three town councils then authorized the Tri- Town Committee to hire Touche Ross & Co. to perform the financial analysis required to determine the impact on the average annual residential water bill of buying the private water company and building the cross-bay pipeline.

Authorization was also granted to retain Weston & Sampson to update its engineering study and Merrill Lynch to determine the annual debt service requirements related to the various options considered.

Legal services were also retained to commence discussions with BCWC related to its interest in selling the water system to a public authority and at what price.

8. On July 14, 1983, the Tri-Town Committee recommended to the Tri-Town Councils that action be taken to:

a. Establish a county water authority that would:

b. Purchase the Bristol County Water Company;

c. Upgrade the distribution system;

d. Construct and operate a cross-bay pipeline connection to the Providence water system.

9. The Tri-Town Committee concurrently approached the state regarding the availability of state funding to support purchase of the water company and construction of the pipeline.

While the Tri-Town Committee was at work, the water supply reached a critical stage. During the drought of the early 1980’s, water use restrictions went into effect. In 1980, an emergency connection was made to East Providence to supplement the BCWC supply. Water was trucked into Bristol.

 

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