A Resilient New Water Treatment Plant in Woonsocket

Partner

City of Woonsocket

Woonsocket-water-plant

Challenge:

The City of Woonsocket’s aging drinking water plant was not meeting Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management water quality discharge standards and entered into an agreement to achieve compliance. Building a new facility was determined as the preferred option but the current plant was located in a riverine floodplain. City officials contacted the Infrastructure Bank for financing options to not only build a new facility but move the operations to a higher elevation location.

Solution:

$55 million in total financing through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

Results:

The new state of the art water treatment plant is providing safe, clean drinking water to residents while improving the Blackstone River’s water quality. By moving operations out of the flood plain, the new plant has increased resilience to future storm events. The new facility is the largest public works project in the City of Woonsocket’s history.