Attention water system customers:

DRINKING WATER WARNING

Prudence Island Water District water is contaminated with E. coli

E. coli bacteria were reported on 09/03/2010 in a sample collected on 09/01/2010. These bacteria can make you sick, and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems.

What should I do?

DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in water.

E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.

The symptoms listed above are not caused only by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. People at increased risk should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.

What happened?

Bacterial contamination can occur when increased run-off enters the drinking water source (for example, following heavy rains). It can also happen due to a break in the distribution system (pipes) or a failure in the treatment process.

What is being done?

The water storage facility "Big Blue" will be disinfected by chlorination. This treated water will be distributed throughout the district water system. The Indian Spring well No. 1 has already been disinfected and will not be put back online until proven free of bacteria.

We will inform you when tests show no bacteria and you no longer need to boil your water. We anticipate resolving the problem within 7 days.

For more information, please contact William Capron at Telephone No. 401-835-0475. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses. You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

This notice is being sent to you by Prudence Island Water District PWS ID No. RI1592023 Date distributed 9/3/2010

Attention water system customers:

AS OF SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2010, STAGE 3 CONSERVATION RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Watering of lawns, landscaping, shrubs or trees, gardens, use of power washers and washing of vehicles prohibited. A special permit may be issued by the PIWD to allow for watering of newly planted lawns and shrubs or trees for a limited time.
Vegetable gardens may be watered Tuesday through Thursday only. Watering hours are early morning (before 9 a.m.) or late evening (after 7 p.m.) only. A limited number of special permits may be issued for weekend vegetable garden watering on a case by case basis, by the PIWD Operations Manager or the Board. Permitted watering shall be by hand held hose or container only. All hoses must be equipped with an automatic shutoff device. Filling of ponds, pools, hot tubs and similar equipment shall not be permitted under any circumstances.

New rates for 2010 are now posted at this link. A budget for 2010 is also available at this link.

Administrative goals and achievements

Consumer Confidence Report

In accordance with DOH regulations, the district has completed its Consumer Confidence Report for 2009 and has distributed it to community water system customers. You can download a copy of the report at this link.

Annual report

The district's fiscal year closed on September 30, 2009. The annual report has been printed and mailed to the district electors. If you did not receive your copy, you can download it from this link, or contact the district clerk to receive a copy by mail or e-mail.

Done and done!

The Prudence Island Water District has completed its acquisition of the assets of the Prudence Island Utilities Corp., effective November 1, 2008. It's been a long four years getting to this point, and there's still a lot of work to be done as we get our operational legs under us, but we're looking forward of meeting the challenge of bringing a publically administered water system to our residents.

The Board of Directors would like to thank all of the people who made this acquisition possible, especially:

Rep. Ray Gallison, who supported the district in every imaginable way. Ray has always responded to any request we made of him, and without his faith in our ability to get the job done, we'd have been in dire straits. Thank you, Ray!

Sandra Matrone Mack, Esq. of Hinckley Allen & Snyder, LLP. Sandy's tireless efforts were instrumental in making the acquisition a reality, and it would not be overstating the case to say that we could not possibly have accomplished this goal without her help. SANDY, YOU ARE AMAZING!

Sandy was ably assisted by Cynthia Lydon and Adam Gwaltney of HAS, and we are grateful for their help and for their infinite courtesy and patience.

Mary-Stuart Kilner of Bank of America, NA was invaluable in helping us navigate through some choppy financial waters. Her expertise and her kindness have not gone unnoticed.

Gary Chobanian, P.E. Senior Sanitary Engineer at the Office of Drinking Water Quality, RI Dept. of Health. Gary's encyclopedic knowledge of procedure combined with his willingness to assist us at every step of the way helped to make this acquisition possible. Gary, you are THE MAN!

Anthony Simeone, Executive Director of RI Clean Water Finance Agency. Mr. Simeone is a talented problem solver and a true gentleman whose help and encouragement motivated us to see the transaction though to completion.

Chris Vitale handles the legal chores for RICWFA, and he quietly and efficiently coordinated all the puzzle pieces to make financing for the acquisition a reality.

These folks did the heavy lifting, but several others lent a hand too: Mark Spinale of EPA; Mark Cousineau at BOA; Colleen Bodziony, Debra Maynard and Jayne Haworth of RI Interlocal Risk Mgt Trust, Robert A. Migliaccio, Esq. of Cameron & Mittleman, LLP, and countless others all contributed to the cause. To all of you folks out there, named and unnamed, who took our phone calls, answered our e-mails, and answered our not-always-intelligent questions, we thank you!

Looking back a few years, none of this would have been possible without Jeff Gofton of the Office of Municipal Affairs (retired), who recognized that we'd never get off the ground without help and arranged for CDBG funding to get us started.

Thanks also to Dave Delisle at USDA, whose help in securing us a pre-development engineering and environmental review grant gave us a sense of direction.

Lastly, we recognize and appreciate the efforts of the PIUC in bringing the acquisition process to a successful conclusion. This has not been an easy transition for any of us, and your resolve to get it done made it possible.

Administrative infrastructure... building the district team

To build a water district up from the ground is no small feat. It requires teamwork and intensive research and planning. Fortunately, the Prudence Island Water District Planning Committee gave us an extensive charter that serves as a guidepost from which we can carry on the work of bringing a truly public water system to Prudence Island.

What we've done... and what we're doing

Now that the acquisition is complete, we're working hard to set up an administrative and operational structure so that things run smoothly. Please bear with us during this transition, and please participate in our public meetings!