Title 46
Waters and Navigation

Chapter 15.3
Public Drinking Water Supply System Protection

§ 46-15.3-1.1. Legislative findings.

(a) The general assembly hereby recognizes and declares that:

(1) Water is vital to life and comprises an invaluable natural resource which is not to be abused by any segment of the state’s population or its economy. It is the policy of this state to restore, enhance, and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of its waters to protect public health;

(2) That Rhode Island has abundant supplies of surface and groundwater and an average level of precipitation adequate to replenish these supplies under normal conditions, and that these supplies are sufficient in quantity and quality to meet the present needs of the people and economy of this state, but that sources of drinking water are not always located where they are needed, are subject to contamination making them unfit for drinking purposes, may be used for purposes not requiring water suitable for drinking, and may not be adequate to meet all future needs;

(3) The waters of this state are a critical renewable resource which must be protected to insure the availability of safe and potable drinking water for present and future needs;

(4) That systematic management of the state’s drinking water supplies is essential to the proper conservation, development, utilization, and protection of this finite natural resource, if the present and future needs of the state are to be met on a continuing and sustainable basis;

(5) It is a paramount policy of the state to protect the purity of present and future drinking water supplies by protecting aquifers, recharge areas, and watersheds;

(6) It is the policy of the state to restore and maintain the quality of its waters to a quality consistent with its use for drinking supplies and other designated beneficial uses without treatment as feasible;

(7) Development of land areas near to supplies of drinking water and related construction can threaten the quality of those supplies and, therefore, can endanger public health; thus it is necessary to take immediate and continuing steps to protect the watersheds of surface waters and the reservoirs and recharge areas of ground waters from land uses and activities which may degrade the quality of public drinking water;

(8) Protection of water quality is necessary from the collection source through the point of delivery to the ultimate consumer;

(b) That the objectives of this chapter are:

(1) To insure that water supply system management plans are prepared, maintained, and carried out by each municipality and by each municipal department, agency, district, authority, or other entity engaged in or authorized to engage in the supply, treatment, transmission, or distribution of drinking water, and

(2) That the said plans and their execution achieve the effective and efficient conservation, development, utilization, and protection of this finite natural resource in ways that meet the present and future needs of the state and its people.