Entities talked water supply back in 2012

The recent approach by the Bristol County Water Authority to East Providence attempting to work with the city on a project wasn’t the first time the entity representing Barrington, Bristol and Warren has engaged its neighbor.

Back in 2012, the BCWA and East Providence were offered the opportunity by the state to connect with Pawtucket to provide both systems with a secondary source. The Rhode Island Resource Water Board presented the BCWA and East Providence with a chance to do so at a cost of $27 million, 50 percent of which would be funded by the state. But while the BCWA was eager to take up the offer, East Providence eventually declined, balking at the price of its share of the approximately $13.5 million the municipalities would be required to pay.

Attachments

20190404-160922-BETA Ppwrpt Phase 1 Options 2-19.pdf

EAST PROVIDENCE — Seeking the city’s assistance in creating a back-up source for its system, Bristol County Water Authority representatives recently presented East Providence officials with a proposal they say would benefit each of the municipalities involved.

At an informational meeting held in East Providence City Hall two weeks ago, BCWA Executive Director Pamela Marchand and Paul Smith, a Senior Project Engineer at the Providence-based BETA Group, proposed a two-pronged plan (see attachment for full proposal) that would initially see the systems joined together to provide both with another means of access to water. Down the line, the other aspect could potentially have the conjoined system connect with Pawtucket, offering both a true second, outside flow.

The cost of merging the current systems is estimated to be approximately $4.75 million. Ms. Marchand said the BCWA would pay for the vast majority of the first phase, seeking only assistance from East Providence with police patrols required during construction. She added, subject to negotiation, some future maintenance costs could be shared. The proposal has already received the backing of the respective councils in the three towns composing the BCWA: Barrington, Warren and Bristol.

If East Providence agrees to the plan, something Ms. Marchand said would be needed by the end of this summer, the project could commence as soon as Spring 2020 and likely take about two years to complete.

The first part of the BCWA proposal calls for the two systems to be interwoven beginning where its main pipe reaches land near the Silver Spring Golf Course off Pawtucket Avenue in the waters under the Providence River. The connection would eventually reach East Providence’s water hub located at the tower facility in Kent Heights off Dover Avenue.

At the meeting two weeks ago, Mr. Smith said about a half-dozen piping routes were considered at the outset, but ultimately only a pair were deemed viable.

One would stay mostly on main roads, heading north on Pawtucket Avenue, turning east at Wampanoag Trail then north again on Dover Avenue until reaching the tower. It had an estimated cost of $5.1 million. The other, with the $4.75 million price tag, would cross under Pawtucket Avenue behind the Village Green apartment complex, then travel north on Elder Avenue through property owned by Citizens Bank before reaching the Trail and again running up Dover ending at the tower site.

The recommendation of Mr. Smith and BETA, hired by the BCWA for the project, is the second option. Mr. Smith said about the latter, “It significantly minimizes exposure on Pawtucket Avenue…It should be quicker and it keep costs down.”

Mr. Smith noted East Providence already has a right-of-way through the Village Green parcel. He said the BCWA and BETA have started discussions with Citizens Bank seeking the necessary easements to access its land.

In expressing his support of the proposal, East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva said, “This is a public safety, infrastructure project that needs to get done. I believe alternative two is the best route. It limits disruption to traffic, limits disruption to people’s daily lives…route two is the best and least disruptive route.”

There’s an urgency on the part of both entities to see the plan come to fruition, Ms. Marchard said.

Right now, neither authority has access to a back-up supply. The BCWA was forced to cut off its reserve due to the age of its treatment plant, which was built in 1908, and the cost associated with building a new one. The BCWA back-up supply connected from its Warren location with one just over the border Massachusetts.

The only existing source each system has is their connection to the Scituate Reservoir. East Providence’s is a meandering pipeline that starts in Cranston, travels through Providence then into Narragansett Bay. It was constructed in the late 1960s and its condition has been a concern of city official for decades now.

The BCWA pipe connects directly to the Providence system. It is much newer, being laid in the late 1990s. The materials, steel encased by plastic, are also more modern and it sits on shelf in the Providence River unlike East Providence’s that rests directly on the floor.

“There are a lot of things that could happen to any water supply, but if something happened to our water we’d be in a pretty bad situation, obviously,” Ms. Marchand said, referring to both systems. “There are so many things that could happen along the way that could cut off the supply.”

East Providence Public Works Director Steve Coutu acknowledged the city’s perilous predicament. The East Providence cross-river pipe was built in 1967 and made of prestressed concrete which he opined has almost certainly deteriorated over the last 52 years. He noted a Providence pipe made of the same material had a “catastrophic failure” in the 1990s, something that is very worrying to him and East Providence Water Supervisor Jim Marvel. Mr. Coutu said he and Mr. Marvel fret even a simple inspection of the pipe could cause significant problems.

“It’s a project we’ve been looking at for many years,” Mr. Coutu said. “The obstacle is it’s our only supply. It’s difficult to inspect.”

By joining the BCWA and East Providence systems, it would afford the city with an opportunity to thoroughly investigate its main and determine if there are any problems with it.

“We’re anxious because we no longer have a back-up supply,” Ms. Marchand said. “And I know Jim and Steve are anxious because of your situation.”

No action was taken by the East Providence side at the meeting. The proposal is expected to be taken up by the City Council there in the near future.