Rhode Island’s water is a precious resource, one we all share. It is also a potential economic advantage for the state.
Our average rainfall [is] 48 inches a year, an amount that assures we have an adequate supply of water.
But the state has not been able to turn this abundance into an economic advantage because it has not determined how much water is available to support new economic growth or how to make the most productive use of this valuable resource. These facts are why a well-planned, properly managed system is needed.
The General Assembly is currently taking action to make Rhode Island’s water-management system more efficient, protect the state’s reserves, and ensure a safe and sufficient supply for the future – a supply that we can guarantee to water-reliant industries and businesses that are looking to locate here.
To achieve those goals, three things have to be done:
• Promote efficiency and conservation. Water is wasted, particularly in the summer. The fastest and cheapest source of new water is to use Rhode Island’s existing water more wisely.
• Protect rivers and provide predictable water supply. Knowing how much water is available, the state needs to establish how much water can safely be removed while maintaining the health of rivers, lakes and ponds.
• Repair aging infrastructure and invest in better system reliability, safety, backup supplies and interconnections.
The R.I. Shared Water Resources Act – sponsored by Rep. Frank G. Ferri, D-Warwick, and Sen. David E. Bates, R-Barrington – is currently being considered by the General Assembly and is supported by the Coalition for Water Security. The Act provides a way to responsibly and effectively enact and implement all three of those necessary steps at a minimal cost to the state, water suppliers and consumers, both residential and commercial.
Rhode Island’s drinking water, tourism, economic development, fisheries and much of our recreation depend on the state’s clean-flowing rivers and streams. We need to fully assess the state’s water resources and set goals for how much of that water can be withdrawn without damaging the positive influences that groundwater, rivers and streams have on our environment. Hard as it may be to believe, that basic information and those goals do not currently exist.
Whether the state’s shared water supply is used for drinking water in our homes, fire protection, irrigating farmland or supporting economic development, we cannot be inattentive or extravagant in its use. In Rhode Island, water use often doubles or triples in the summer – primarily for what is in fact over-watering of residential lawns. Watering lawns more responsibly, especially at times when the water supply is at its lowest, is beneficial for all of us. The Shared Water Resources Act would provide incentives to reduce water use without imposing a financial burden on water suppliers.
We are aware of additional legislative proposals being considered, including legislation creating a new siting board to review locations for future water supplies. This would produce a new layer of bureaucracy, which we aren’t sure is necessary – especially in a time when one of the state’s top priorities is streamlining government. The current authority of the Water Resources Board, when carried out as already mandated, is sufficient to plan for the location of new water supplies for the state.
Any eventual water legislation created this year at the Statehouse must include the key elements for an effective, efficient water-management plan for Rhode Island – knowing how much water we have; knowing how much we can withdraw for use while safeguarding the environment; reducing demand, especially in summer; and resisting any new bureaucratic layers in the regulatory process. Rhode Islanders can then feel secure that they will continue to have water when it is needed, for home or farm use, safety, or to support economic development, without any one group or specific need being shortchanged.
Rhode Islanders share our water. We share our concerns for its future. We share the desire for a resurgent, healthy economy. We can share in creating a solution that benefits us all. The Rhode Island Shared Water Resources Act can accomplish that desired result. •
R.I. Rep. Frank G. Ferri is a Democrat from District 22 in Warwick. For more information, visit www.rilin.state.ri.us/Ferri.
Sheila Dormody is the Rhode Island director for Clean Water Action and coordinator of the local Coalition for Water Security. For more information about the group,
go to www.savebay.info/WaterSecurity.
