We can’t make a mistake with this little, old system.”

Ann-Marie Lockwood, Prudence Island Water District Board of Directors

PORTSMOUTH — Four months ago, the Prudence Island Water District (PIWD) claimed to have finally implemented a plan to rid the island’s drinking water supply of coliform bacteria in accordance with an agreement with the R.I. Department of Health (RIDOH).

Called the Cross-Connection Control Plan (CCCP), it was intended to protect the island’s water system from backsiphonage — backflow caused by a negative pressure in a water system or individual’s potable water system — by installing backflow preventers.

Just four days after the PIWD’s Dec. 9, 2020 report to RIDOH, however, a routine test for coliform bacteria in the island’s water system came back positive. On top of that, the state found that the water district did not complete the CCCP in a satisfactory manner. RIDOH ordered the district to apply, by Jan. 13, for approval of a permanent chlorination system to be installed by Nov. 1 of this year. (RIDOH said it would consider a “reasonable extension” of both dates should the district request it.)

Prudence Island is a unique community, however, and that includes its small water system with an aging infrastructure that serves only about 350 customers. Chlorinating the water could be too costly for a district that is under such financial constraints, District Treasurer Ann-Marie Lockwood said during an online meeting of the district’s Board of Directors on March 25.

“We want to do what is right, but you have to make reasonable demands and set a reasonable (timetable),” she said. “We can’t take on any more debt.”

Sen. James Seveney (D-Dist. 11-Portsmouth, Bristol, Tiverton), who represents Prudence Island along with Rep. Susan Donovan (D-Dist. 69-Bristol, Portsmouth), agreed that the island’s water system faces a unique set of problems.

“What the Department of Health is telling them is very expensive. You’ve got a situation where you have a small population of rate-payers and what (RIDOH) wants them to do may be out of reach,” said Sen. Seveney, who along with Rep. Donovan has been asked by the water board to request a meeting with state health officials so the district’s case can be heard more fully.

The answer to the island’s water issues is not necessarily a system-wide chlorination system, district members and others argue. The water board has heard from Bob Ferrari of Northeast Water Solutions, Inc., who said chlorinating could lead to problems with the district’s distribution lines. 

“Sounds like he’s saying chlorination should be off the table,” Robin Weber, the water board’s moderator, said at the March 25 meeting.

Ms. Lockwood agreed. “One of the end goals is to have a system that would be able to withstand this kind of treatment,” she said, adding the chlorination could damage pipes. “We can’t make a mistake with this little, old system.”

Added Sen. Seveney, “The contents of the minerals that are in the water will react bad with chlorination. The chlorination does what it has to do, but the water looks terrible.”

A better solution would be “a systematic replacement of aging infrastructure,” Ms. Weber said. Although that’s an expensive prospect, the district has heard encouraging news about funding sources from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s office, she said.

That would be most welcome, said water board member Helio Melo. “We do not have the capability for this kind of infrastructure work, with 350 people to pay for it,” he said at the March 25 meeting.

Looking for water

Another key solution would be getting permission to drill elsewhere on the island for quality groundwater that could be incorporated into the system.

The island’s water comes from wells in the ground. According to piwater.home.blog, a private website established to help islanders better understand their water issues, the primary wells are Army Camp Well and Indian Spring No. 4. The well water is pumped to a storage tank, “Big Blue,” and from there it flows downhill through the distribution network to the island’s homes. 

According to the website, the best solution to the island’s water issues is to drill in areas where quality water is plentiful. (Indian Spring No. 4, which has a high iron content anyway due to its depth, could then be bypassed.) This solution would make it easier to treat the water to eliminate bacterial contamination, the website states.

The problem is, there’s only so much land available on the island to drill because much of Prudence is controlled by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM).

“DEM wants to help, but everything that’s not public land has all been turned over to DEM through some sort of conservation easement. It’s pretty clear you can’t do anything like drill there for water,” Sen. Seveney said. “We’re all engaged in it, but it’s just a thorny problem.”

Private wells for all is also not the answer. “That’s great for the people who can afford it, but I’m concerned about other people,” Ms. Lockwood said.

In the end, all islanders want is quality drinking water, said Ms. Weber.

“But we also want it to do it in a way that doesn’t completely cripple our water district,” she said. “We need the Department of Health … to promise that if we get this facilities improvement plan and it says do all these things, that they will give us a reasonable timeline to achieve those goals.”