Resident claims Bristol County Water Authority is breaking the law

Barry Lial says the water authority is negligent in its duties — Is anybody listening?

By Ted Hayes
Posted 1/10/19

A Serpentine Road resident who ran for Warren Town Council last fall to raise awareness of alleged negligence and wrongdoing by the Bristol County Water Authority has taken his case to the Rhode …

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Resident claims Bristol County Water Authority is breaking the law

Barry Lial says the water authority is negligent in its duties — Is anybody listening?

Posted

A Serpentine Road resident who ran for Warren Town Council last fall to raise awareness of alleged negligence and wrongdoing by the Bristol County Water Authority has taken his case to the Rhode Island Attorney General.

In November, Barry Lial submitted two complaints to environmental attorney Gregory Schultz of the attorney general’s office, alleging that the water authority has violated two state laws, and possibly others, through its handling of the Kickemuit Reservoir and a dike just north of the reservoir off Schoolhouse Road. He also claims they have ignored state law that requires the authority to keep and maintain its redundant sources of water in Massachusetts.

He wrote in his complaints that the BCWA’s “negligence and incompetence” has caused serious environmental impacts on the Kickemuit and surrounding watershed, cost ratepayers money and left Bristol County vulnerable without a redundant water supply.

But while authority executive director Pamela Marchand conceded that they have done little maintenance on the dike and its treatment plant over the past decade or so, she said his argument is flawed, and that the BCWA has acted, and continues to act, in ratepayers’ best interest:

The dike and existing redundant water sources at the Shad Factory Pond and Anawan Reservoir in Rehoboth, and elsewhere, she said, “are insufficient.”

“It’s just not worth trying to treat that water because it’s poor to begin with,” she said. “In general, we’ve done minimal maintenance. And the treatment plant we kept running as long as we could (but it’s) no longer functional without significant investment. The supplies are just not worthwhile to anybody.”

Mr. Lial’s complaints center on two sections of state law that govern the water authority’s responsibility to maintain its water sources, and also spell out financial commitments following the conclusion of work on the cross-bay pipeline, a connection to the Bristol County system that runs under upper Narragansett Bay from Riverside to Field’s Point in Providence. That pipeline was completed in the late 1990s, giving Bristol County water customers access to clean water from the Scituate Reservoir.

In the wake of that project, the state set up a long-term plan in which the water authority and the Rhode Island Water Resources Board would coordinate to maintain the authority’s existing systems and treatment plant, with the state having the option to purchase resources or others to help Bristol County better reach its treatment and distribution goals.

In his complaint, Mr. Lial alleges that the water authority turned its back on those requirements:
“So much of state law deals with the treasuring (of) fresh water bodies,” he wrote. “BCWA for years has turned their heads away. This violation of state law and the law’s intent is without excuse.”

Though she was not with the authority when the cross-bay pipeline was built, Ms. Marchand said that her understanding of that cooperation agreement is that it stemmed from the fear at the time that “there was some concern about losing supply from Massachusetts.”

But in the years following, the state began turning away from the cooperation plan, while the water authority spent less money on maintenance of the facilities, as it became clearer that those Massachusetts sources were problematic. The water wasn’t good, the distribution lines were in need of substantial investment, and the treatment plant needed expensive upgrades and repairs, she said.
“Since that time, they (the state water resources board) have not forwarded any other funds.”

Instead, the BCWA began looking for alternatives and is currently working on a plan to build another pipeline which would connect its system with the City of Pawtucket’s water supply.

DEM violation
When asked for comment on Mr. Lial’s complaints, attorney general’s office spokeswoman Amy Kempe referred the matter to the state DEM, which in 2012 issued a violation notice against the water authority for failing to adequately upkeep the Schoolhouse Road dike. That violation notice is still active.
Mr. Schultz “met with Barry Lial as a courtesy” to view the dike, she said. After the meeting, Mr. Schultz spoke with DEM officials and asked for an update on the situation.

“As of this time, the matter remains with DEM,” Ms. Kempe said, referring all further questions to that agency.

Last week, Ms. Marchand readily acknowledged the DEM complaint. She conceded that the water authority had done minimal maintenance work at the dike, but that was due to their overall strategy of moving away from upkeeping its inadequate facilities and not “throw(ing) good money after bad.”
The current plan, she said, is to decommission the dam entirely, and open up a large section of it to allow more natural flow of water up and down the Kickemuit Reservoir. It’s a plan that was first introduced to the Warren Town Council in 2017, and she said the BCWA is currently is working with the town, state DEM, state DOT and Save The Bay on the details.

“We’re working with all the state agencies about what to do with these supplies,” she said. “They’re 100 percent for removing the dam and returning (the Kickemuit Reservoir) to its natural state.”
That plan is currently in the design phase, she said.

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