All News Releases By Date

EPA Begins Construction of New Water Line to Homes in Scituate And Johnston, RI

Release Date: 09/18/2000
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Affairs Office, (617) 918-1064

Boston - The New England office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will begin tomorrow construction of drinking water lines for fourteen homes in Scituate and Johnston, RI, whose water supplies are contaminated with industrial solvents. EPA expects the project to cost $250,000. Because Scituate does not have a municipal water supply system, the system constructed in Scituate will be operated by the Providence Water Supply Board . "No one should have to worry whether the tap water in their home is safe to drink," said Mindy Lubber, EPA New England regional administrator. "The cooperation exhibited between these communities is to be commended. Now that the necessary studies and design are complete, we can get to work on building the new water line so that these families need not worry any longer."

"A situation such as this goes to show that clean water is not something we can afford to take for granted -- we must do everything we can to ensure that all Rhode Islanders have access to clean water," said U.S. Senator Jack Reed, who toured Scituate in October of last year and helped the town obtain a $1.2 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for study of the problem. "I am so pleased that these families will finally have assurance that their water is safe. I thank both the EPA and town officials in Scituate and Johnston for working together to assess the problem and address the needs of these families."

"This project underscores the critical importance of protecting groundwater from contamination. We must continue our efforts to work with industry to limit the use of solvents and to ensure their proper disposal so that drinking water supplies remains safe," said Department Environmental Management Commissioner Jan H. Reitsma.

"The town of Johnston is happy to cooperate with our neighbors in Scituate to help families having problems with tainted wells," said George E. Corrente, Director of Building Operations/Water Commissioner.

"These water lines prove what can be accomplished when local, state, and federal officials work together," said Scituate Town Councilman Wayne Salisbury, who is also chair of the Water Study Commission. "I'd like to extend particular thanks to our neighbor Johnston and George Corrente as well as Frank Gardner of the EPA."

Last fall, staff from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) sampled private wells in the Peck Hill neighborhood and found nine wells to have concentrations above drinking water standards. The Rhode Island Department of Health determined that two of the homes had levels of contaminants making the water unsafe for bathing and showering. Another five wells show levels that do not exceed the federal drinking water standards. The DEM has been providing bottled water to the homes that exceed the standards. The chemicals of concern are the following chlorinated solvents: trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and cis-1,2-dichloroethylene (DCE). In January and April of this year, EPA sampled dozens of wells on Peck Hill Road, Shun Pike, and Byron Randall Road in both Scituate and Johnston. Results showed an additional fourteen homes to be either contaminated or in the path of migrating contaminants. EPA, Scituate, Johnston and the Providence Water Supply Board worked together to conduct pump tests and found that Johnston would need to upgrade the pump station on Shun Pike to increase water pressure. This project has now been completed.

Some homes that were found in earlier investigations to be highly contaminated were already connected to Johnston's water supply.

"We are able to do this work because of the level of cooperation between neighboring towns," said Frank Gardner, EPA's on-scene coordinator for the project.