Information For Public Water Suppliers

The Office of Drinking Water Quality is responsible for regulatory oversight of public drinking water systems in Rhode Island. Our staff is also responsible for developing and managing drinking water programs that provide guidance, tools and assistance to the owners and operators of public drinking water systems.

What we do

Regulatory Compliance

The U.S. EPA and the Office of Drinking Water Quality share the responsibility of protecting drinking water resources in our state to ensure the activities required by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Our office evaluates the ability of each public water system to meet minimum health standards. Violations of these standards are categorized as: quality, monitoring, reporting, or treatment technique violations. Enforcement efforts are designed to bring systems into compliance.(more)

Engineering & Plan Review

Our engineering staff reviews and approves plans and specifications prior to construction of new facilities or alterations to existing water system infrastructure and inspects systems regularly for compliance with regulations and approvals. (application)

Water Quality Monitoring & Sampling

As the owner of a public water supply you are required to monitor for a variety of potential contaminants depending the source of water, previous monitoring, and system classification.  You may use the Department of Health Environmental Sciences Laboratory, or a certified potable water testing lab. (find labs)

• Community Water Systems: serve at least 25 year round resident, or has at least 15 service connections used by year round residents.
• Transient Non-Community Water Systems: serve at least 25 people for at least 60 days of the year, such as restaurants, campgrounds and hotels.
• Non-Transient Non-Community Water Systems: serve at least 25 of the same people for at least 6 months of the year, such as schools and factories.

Monitoring schedules for systems are revised and mailed annually. If you have any questions regarding the specific monitoring requirements, please contact us.

Electronic Data Submission

The Department of Health accepts water quality data from environmental laboratories on behalf of public water suppliers. The web-based system provides an alternative to submitting handwritten or paper-based reports. (more)

Financial Assistance

Many public water system capital improvement projects require financing. We, and the Clean Water Finance Agency, administer the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund to help meet this need. (more)