PROVIDENCE – Seven months after lawmakers created a commission to study the impact of new housing developments on rural public water supplies, the panel is getting to work.
The commission’s inaugural meeting will take place on Sept. 16 at the Statehouse, according to a Sept. 10 announcement from the R.I. General Assembly.
“We are in the midst of a very serious housing crisis that demands we create more homes. We also need to protect our water supply, so new and existing homes have the safe, clean water they all need,” Rep. Megan L. Cotter, D-Exeter, said in the announcement.
Cotter acted as sponsor for the commission’s bill.
The commission has been tasked with studying and providing recommendations to evaluate, plan for and control how new housing developments affect the safety and quality of public water supplies and watersheds in rural Rhode Island.
The cohort is set to present its findings on June 15, 2027, to the state’s House of Representatives.
“We need planning that looks at our water supply more broadly and into the future because a safe water supply is not something we can afford to put at risk,” Cotter said.
Members of the new legislative group include state representatives along with municipal leaders, local fire department officials and professors, including Rep. Michelle E. McGaw, D-Portsmouth; House Minority Leader Rep. Michael W. Chippendale; Hector Barreras, Rhode Island Water Resources Board staff director; and Soni Pradhanang, University of Rhode Island professor.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a PBN staff writer. She can be reached at kannermascolo@pbn.com.
