The Rhode Island Department of Health is accepting public comments through August 26 on a five-year update to the Smithfield Water Supply Board's plan for replacing aging pipes, storage tanks and pumps, according to a public notice issued July 27.
The document under review is known as a Clean Water Infrastructure Replacement Plan, or CWIRP — a state-mandated planning tool that lays out, in five-year increments over a 20-year horizon, which parts of a water system a utility expects to replace and how it intends to pay for the work. Under Rhode Island General Laws Chapter 46-15.6 and state drinking-water regulations, any water supplier that sells more than 50 million gallons a year must file an updated CWIRP with the health department every five years. The Smithfield Water Supply Board meets that threshold.
Residents, businesses or organizations who want a chance to speak on the record have until August 7 to request a public hearing, according to the notice. If at least 25 people, a government agency or a qualifying association with 25 or more members asks for one by that date, the health department will hold a hearing August 14 at 11 a.m. at the RIDOH Auditorium at Three Capitol Hill in Providence. Written comments can be submitted regardless of whether a hearing takes place, up until the 30-day comment period closes.
Local sponsorWorld-class website design and custom software at a small business price.Company 50The Smithfield Water Supply Board, which the Town Council also governs as the Board of Water Commissioners, supplies water to homes and businesses in Smithfield and portions of North Providence. As of 2025, the system served 1,516 residential meters, 133 commercial meters and 33 industrial meters, with a rated capacity of about 1.965 million gallons a day, according to the board's website. Much of the system dates to the 1960s, when the Longview pump station and its main transmission line were built; the board's three storage tanks include one put into service in 1993 and another added in 1997 as part of a federal Superfund project. The utility buys all of its water wholesale from the Providence Water Supply Board rather than drawing from its own sources.
The infrastructure has drawn scrutiny before. In 2019, Water Commissioner Gene Allen told the Valley Breeze that repainting and rehabilitating the town's three storage tanks — work he said had been "put off for years" — was projected to cost about $2.8 million, to be financed through borrowing from the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. Allen also cited a water main break that spilled onto Interstate 95, which he said left customers north of the Route 295 overpass relying on stored tank water until repairs were finished.
The current CWIRP update itself has not been made public in detail, and the health department's notice does not specify which projects or costs it prioritizes. The plan is a planning and engineering document rather than a rate order — any resulting water-rate changes would still need to go through the Town Council separately.
Residents who want to comment or request the August 14 hearing can contact the health department's Center for Drinking Water Quality at 401-222-6867 or DOH.RIDWQ@health.ri.gov before the comment period closes August 26.