NEWS STORIES:

HOME

T = Pawtucket Times / J = Providence Journal

11/05/2008 T Pawtucket Water Supply Board cited as model by EPA
     
09/04/2008 J Water cost may rise 17.6 percent
     
04/11/2008 J Water board cites reasons for rate hike
     
04/10/2008 J Pawtucket council discusses water plant
     
03/20/2008 J Pawtucket’s new water treatment plant on line
     
03/07/2008 J Pawtucket water board engineer is official
     
01/15/2008 T Water plant running soon
    With the replacement of some problematic pumps, the Pawtucket Water Supply Board Board’s new water treatment plant should be up and running by the end of this month or shortly thereafter
     
10/30/2007 J Council appoints board members (James Bradford to Water Board)
     
10/25/2007 J Cumberland to pay water supply board (tangible property tax)
     
10/18/2007 J Pawtucket pump being returned (raw water intake)
     
09/19/2007 J Pawtucket talks resume for engineer’s post
     
08/30/2007 J Pawtucket Buys Water Pipes (Central Falls)
     
07/03/2007 J Noisy pumps causing concerns (raw water intake)
     
06/21/2007 J Water rates could go up
    A staffer for the Public Utilities Commission calls one piece of pending legislation “the equivalent of a … tax” on water utility bills.
     
05/03/2007 T C.F. water system to fall under Pawtucket's control
     
05/01/2007 J Disagreement over water authority pipes going to court (Cumberland tax)
     
10/13/2006 J Water board strikes deal for old pipes
    Pawtucket council votes to endorse the $1.1-million purchase.
     
10/13/2006 T In hot water
    Board 'disgusted' with work delays for new plant, to open 15 months late
     
09/22/2006 J 36 acres bought to aid conservation
     
09/20/2006 J Failure to report water bacteria nets $3,090 fine
     
09/19/2006 T Board fined for foul water
     
07/13/2006 J Water Supply Board to rethink engineer appointment
    Concerns over a City Charter provision prompt a special meeting at which the hiring of James L. DeCelles' may be revoked.
     
07/12/2006 J Water board picks new engineer
    James L. DeCelles has been acting chief engineer since January.
     
04/13/2006 J December opening set for water facility
    Water Supply Board members say they're dismayed at how far behind construction on the water treatment plant has fallen.
     
03/30/2006 J Pawtucket customers endure water woes
   

James L. DeCelles, acting chief engineer of the Pawtucket Water Supply Board, said the break occurred around 8:30 a.m., as South Shore Utilities, a subcontractor on the water-treatment plant project, was preparing to install a new 36-inch pipe that will carry untreated water from the the system's network of reservoirs to the new plant.

 DeCelles said the subcontractor broke a 20-inch transmission main that carries ...
     
03/28/2006 J Board fining water plant builder $5,000 a day
     
12/16/2005 J Water supply chief to head Providence system
    Pamela M. Marchand, chief engineer of Pawtucket's water operations, will become the head of the state's largest water supplier.
     
12/15/2005 T Providence eyes PWSB engineer
     
11/01/2005 J Water Supply Board gets another tank
    The new aboveground storage facility will hold 5 million gallons of drinking water, just in case.
     
10/25/2005 J Pawtucket drops its water boiling order
    The Water Supply Board says water is safe to drink after storms forced area residents to either boil water or stock up on bottled supplies.
     
10/25/2005 T Boil water order lifted by health department
     
10/19/2005 J Water clearing, but boil-water advisory remains
     
10/19/2005 T Road collapses after pipe ruptures
    There was more significant water damage in the city Tuesday, but this time it wasn't Mother Nature's fault.
     
10/18/2005 J Rampaging Blackstone swamps homes, businesses
    The PWSB issues a boil-water advisory to its 123,000 customers as a result of the debris dumped into its reservoirs by the weekend deluge.
     
09/21/2005 T Water board gives up on Cumberland surcharge
     
09/19/2005 J Water board drops bid to hike rate
    It would have meant that Valley Falls residents would pay much more than other Pawtucket Water Supply Board customers.
     
09/16/2005 T PUC to make case for double water rate
     
08/11/2005 J Water plant construction slowed by contaminated soil
     
04/28/2005 J Rusty Water Notice - Hydrant Flushing: Next week: Pawtucket, West of the Blackstone River 9:00 PM to 4:00 AM
     
04/12/2005 T PWSB planning to purchase Central Falls' water system
     
04/07/2005 J WATER WORKS - Ground floor of improvements - $45-million treatment plant is centerpiece of 10-year plan
     
02/09/2005 J Water quality wasn't a pipe dream
     
02/09/2005 J Water plant cost rises $3.2 million following dispute
     
11/10/2004 T Water board negotiates purchase of C.F. pipes
     
9/22/04 T When it comes to the new water plant, the price of dirt just went down
     
8/18/2004 T PWSB elects secret finance officer
    Water Board withholds name of its new CFO
     
8/16/2004 J City to buy 11.6 acres to protect water supply
    The 11.6 acres lie along the Diamond Hill Reservoir, a vital link in the chain of reservoirs that supply drinking water to residents of Pawtucket, the Valley Falls section of Cumberland and the City of Central Falls.
     
8/12/2004 T Gas station opponents raise water concerns
     
7/21/2004 J Outlook Crystal Clear - City breaks ground for $44-million plant
    The plant is the biggest and most controversial part of a 20-year, $119-million overhaul of the Pawtucket water system.
     
7/21/2004 T City breaks ground on water plant
     
7/6/2004 ? PWSB gets $100K for property acquisition
     
6/23/2004   Barrington Times: Water board (Bristol County) approves major rate hikes
    Water bills will increase more than 25% in the next three years.
     
6/23/2004 J Water plant issue settled; construction to begin
    Earth Tech will receive $407,959 more for the project because of difficult soil conditions.
     
6/23/2004 T Agreement clears way for water plant construction
     
6/10/2004 J Council upset at water plant contractor's actions
    A city lawyer says the dispute with Earth Tech is not resolved and may wind up in arbitration.
     
6/9/2004 T Firm [Camp, Dresser & McKee] challenges extra costs for new water treatment plant
     
6/9/2004 J Settlement seen in water plant dispute
    The Water Supply Board's general manager says arbitration may not be needed to resolve the conflict over soil conditions.
     
6/4/2004 J Water plant construction delayed by dispute
    Construction originally was to have begun April 1 on the $44.1-million project that includes a pumping station and pipeline, along with the treatment plant.
     
5/18/2004 J Water board requests 25% rate increase
    If, as expected, PUC approves the rate increase, the Water Supply Board will begin collecting the new, higher water rates in April, and begin using the extra revenue to make bond payments starting in September 2006. Yesterday's rate increase request came just eight months after the PUC authorized a 21-percent jump in water rates.
     
3/25/2004 J Water board seeking chief financial officer
    But the City Council questions the need for the new position.
     
2/18/2004 J City's old water plant will get facelift, for now
    The antiquated Mill Street plant will be replaced with a $44-million facility within two years.
     
2/18/2004 T Earth Tech now in charge of water treatment plant
    "It's been such a frustrating process, but we know that water quality in this city is something that our citizens deserve." - James Doyle, Pawtucket mayor
     
2/16/2004 J Water plant now under private management
     
2/13/2004 J Water board seeks to make water pipes tax-exempt
    Although the Water Supply Board sells drinking water in Central Falls and Pawtucket as well as Cumberland, Cumberland is the only one of the three communities that taxes the board's pipes. [Michael W. O'Leary] determined that the pipes that make up the Water Supply Board's distribution system in Cumberland were tangible property and raised the assessment on them from $8.5 million to $20 million.
     
1/21/2004 J Council to keep 2 water plant workers on city payroll
    After balking at the proposal in November, council members reverse course.
     
1/6/2004 J Water Supply Board member in charter conflict
    The council is expected to vote tomorrow night on a request to appoint a replacement for David M. Pasquariello.
     
11/6/2003 J Council fails to authorize new water positions
    The water board wanted the posts to help maintain water quality once the treatment plant is privitized.
     
10/15/2003 J City's brown water blues may be over
    The chief engineer tells the Water Supply Board that chemical additives will get rid of that rusty-colored water. [there was a problem in recent weeks]
     
10/9/2003 J Council authorizes water system bond issue
     
10/5/2003 J PUC rejects higher rate for Cumberland
    The Pawtucket Water Supply Board had sought to impose a higher water rate in Cumberland than in other towns, after Cumberland taxed its water pipes. Joseph A. Keough Jr., the Water Supply Board's lawyer, responded by seeking PUC authorization to charge Cumberland residents sharply higher rates. [Pamela M. Marchand] said the stay of execution is only temporary.
     
9/11/2003 J Dual-rate opponents make case before PUC
    The Pawtucket Water Supply Board is seeking permission to charge higher rates in Cumberland to make up for a sharp and, the board says, unexplained increase in its Cumberland property taxes. A decision on the issue and on the board's overall rate request is expected at the PUC's open meeting on Oct. 3.
     
9/10/2003 J Water plant construction contract finalized
    The Water Supply Board is now seeking City Council authorization to borrow $119 million from the state's Clean Water Finance Agency to get the project off the ground.
     
9/10/2003 T PWSB approves contract for new water plant
     
8/27/2003 J Too late, PUC says to Cumberland on tax memo
    The town's explanation for a $12-million increase in the value of Pawtucket Water Supply Board's tangible property comes after a deadline for information in the rate-increase hearing.
     
8/15/2003 J Water rate hike hearing met with collective yawn
     
8/14/2003 J Water-rate request a taxing question for PUC
    One homeowner attends the hearing to argue against the Water Supply Board's request for a higher rate for its Cumberland customers to compensate for higher taxes.
     
8/13/2003 J Water rate hike request gets hearing today
     
8/14/2003 T PUC hearing on water rates dries up in a hurry
    The Pawtucket Water Supply Board is seeking to boost rates by about $57 annually for Pawtucket and C.F. residential users, and $87 for users in Valley Falls.
     
8/13/2003 T Town officials steamed over request for Valley Falls water rate increase
     
8/13/2003 J Water rate hike request gets hearing today
    The state Public Utilities Commission will hear the Water Supply Board's argument for a higher rate for its Cumberland customers.
     
8/6/2003 J Valley Falls customers may shoulder water tax hike
    Pawtucket Water wants the 2,500 customers in Cumberland to pay a tax increase imposed by that town.
     
7/31/2003 T Water project agreement must be signed by Sept. 1
    An open letter to the Pawtucket City Coucil by Mayor James Doyle
     
7/30/2003 J Mayor tries to smooth city's troubled waters
    Council members' criticism of a deal to build a new water treatment plant became personal, says Mayor James E. Doyle.
     
7/25/2003 T Editorial: "It's time for a decision on a new water plant"
     
7/24/2003 T Councilors question water plant deal
    Earth Tech accord reached after delays of well over a year
     
7/24/2003 J Council members steamed over water plant pact
    City Council President John Barry III leads the criticism of the contract, saying Earth Tech had not kept its promises
     
7/23/2003 T Contract hammered out with water plant vendor
     
7/23/2003 J Board awards $77-million water plant contract
    One member of the Water Supply Board dissents in the award to Earth Tech, questioning the rise in price.
     
7/22/2003 J Water plant deal near, but at a higher cost
    The rise in price has miffed some council members, who wanted to award the contract to a rival bidder.
     
6/24/2003 J Sales down, water board puts lid on spending
    Big commercial users of water have either gone out of business or cut back on water consumption in recent years.
     
5/14/2003 T PWSB approves city site for water plant
    After a pitch by Cumberland Mayor Daniel McKee to site the plant in Cumberland for a reduced tax of $200,000 per year, The PWSB votes to locate the new facility at 85 Branch St in Pawtucket.
     
5/9/2003 T PUC spells $360K in relief for water plant
    An interim relief motion was approved unanimously for the 1938 facility. The pending 28% rate hike request wouldn't go into effect until August.
     
4/24/2003 J Council backs Earth Tech water plant
    The stalemate over who will build and operate the new water treatment facility ends on a 6-3 vote.
   
Voted to move forward with Earth Tech Voted "No"
Donald Grebien Thomas Hodge
Paul Wildenhain David Clemente
David Moran John Barry
Raymond Hoyas  
Mary Bray  
Robert Carr  
     
4/23/2003 J Water plant tour proves an eyeopener
    State utilities officials inspect Pawtucket's 65-year-old water treatment facility in Cumberland.
    "I've got to get my questions answered from a safety perspective." - Kate Racine, PUC
     
4/10/2003 T Work begins on water plant main feeder pipe
     
4/9/2003 J $500,000 water plant emergency repairs OK'd
    The work will begin immediately and is expected to take about five months.
     
4/8/2003 T Mayor [Doyle] asks for new vote on water plant contract
    Building Authority allocates $500,000 for repairs to plant, chiefly to install a 38-inch pipe to bypass the badly corroded 48-inch sole feed from Happy Hollow Reservoir into the treatment plant.
     
4/4/2003 J Report backs urgent need to construct new water plant
    It is not prudent to continue to rely on the plant, an engineering report to the Public Utilities Commission states.
     
4/4/2003 T Report: Water plant nears edge of crisis
     
4/2/2003 J U.S. Filter can't participate in hearing, state panel rules
    Public Utilities Commission members say the sole subject of next month's hearing will be the condition of the city's water treatment plant.
     
3/25/2003 T Council, mayor compare notes in water plant vendor impasse
     
3/21/2003 J PUC mulls U.S. Filter's bid for say in hearing
    The state Public Utilities Commission is concerned that the decades-old water treatment plant will fail as bickering continues over which company should build and operate a new one.
     
3/21/2003 T State body [PUC] skeptical of USFilter arguments
     
3/18/2003 T Talks between Doyle, councilors offer hope for light at end of (water) tunnel
    Cordiality marks Monday meeting regarding dispute over plant vendor.
     
3/18/2003 J City councilors challenge land transfer
    Land for the new water treatment plant was deeded to the Water Supply Board instead of to the city.
     
3/14/2003 T Water plant flap heats up
    Council, mayor stick with opposing choices as to which firm should design, build, operate a new facility.
     
3/14/2003 J Council, mayor refuse to budge on plant bid
    The mayor tells a council committee that he won't seek new bids for a water treatment plant, and council members say they still balk at awarding the contract to a subsidiary of Tyco.
     
3/14/2003 T State suspends PWSB rate hike
    PUC suspends 28% rate increase request. Next week USFilter will seek intervenor status in the case.
     
3/12/2003 T Costs, cracks spreading for PWSB
     
3/11/2003 T Cumberland wants a say in possible water rate increase
     
3/8/2003 T USFilter seeks to intervene in PWSB case
     
3/7/2003 J U.S. Filter petitions PUC to testify at hearing
    The Pawtucket Water Supply Board, which voted to award the water treatment plant contract to U.S. Filter's competitor, opposes the move.
     
3/5/2003 T Questions arise regarding transfer of land to PWSB
     
3/4/2003 T Letter to editor: Pamela Marchand - "Water issues need clarification"
     
2/20/2003 T Talks suggest progress in water plant impasse
     
2/13/2003 J City officials see progress on water plant resolution
    After a year of talks, the city still hasn't selected a company to build a new water treatment facility.
     
2/12/2003 T Expenses mount as new water plant remains on ice
    Homeowners would see water bills increase $63 if rate hike is OK'd.
    The PWSB is looking for $1.8 million to maintain its 1938-era treatment plant, funds that Pamela Marchand, PWSB chief engineer, called "money down the drain".
     
2/5/2003 J PUC moves to settle treatment plant issue
    The commission will conduct a hearing to determine the reliability of the existing Pawtucket water treatment plant.
     
2/4/2003 T Council panel will take on logjam over water plant
     
2/4/2003 J Council told water plant bad off, may shut down
    Water Supply Board's chief engineer says Pawtucket could run out of water within 24 hours of a plant failure.
     
1/29/2003 T Council sets meeting on water plant with mayor
     
1/28/2003 J Water Works
    Pawtucket receives a $540,000 grant to help purchase the aging Central Falls water distribution system.
     
1/15/2003 J Rate hike is approved by Water Supply Board
    If OK'd by the state Public Utilities Commission, the cost of water for the average homeowner will increase from $226 to $289 a year.
     
1/14/2003 T Town [Cumberland]: Water rate hike plan is not our problem
     
1/10/2003 J Proposed water-rate increase irks council
    If the new rate is approved, homeowners will be paying more than $300 a year for water.
     
1/9/2003 T Council rips water chief, sets summit on plant project
    Apparently stung by editorial criticism and a Times news article this week highlighting the possibility of another water rate increase, City Council members reacted angrily Wednesday by ripping Pawtucket Water Supply Board Chief Engineer Pamela Marchand for everything from alleged lax oversight to talking to the press.
     
1/7/2003 T Editorial: Battle over city water project may lead to large rate increase
     
1/6/2003 T Water board seeks $80 rate increase
    If approved, residential users will have seen hikes of 87 percent over 18 months.
     
1/1/2003 J Letters to the editor: Richard Buser and Ronald Wunschel
    Richard Buser of Pawtucket: "Water treatment needs public scrutiny"
    Ronald Wunschel of Pawtucket: "Council must listen to the experts"
     
12/11/2002 T No quick fix in water plant dispute forecast
     
11/27/2002 T Water board stymied by Council's choice of project vendor
    Board supports Earth Tech to operate new water plant; Council has backed rival bidder USFilter.
     
11/??/02 J City Council snubs Doyle choice for water plant
    Council members refuse to ratify the agreement for Earth Tech to build and operate a new water treatment facility for the city.
     
11/20/2002   Pawtucket City Council votes 7-2 against funding a contract with Earth Tech.
     
11/20/2002 T Editorial: "Earth Tech is the only choice for city water project"
     
11/19/2002 J Council still leaning toward U.S. Filter for plant
    Just when you thought it was water over the dam....
     
11/19/2002 T Guest Commentary by Mayor James Doyle: "Council must tap Earth Tech to be new water plant vendor"
     
10/18/2002 T Board picks firm to assess safety of local water supply
    Tectonic/Keyes Assoc. chosen to perform vulnerability assessment study.
     
10/4/2002 J Council has question for judge in water plant case
    The court had ruled that the City Council didn't have the authority to select the builder and operator of a new water treatment plant.
     
10/2/2002 J Purchasing Board wins water plant tug of war
    A Superior Court judge says the board, not the City Council, has the authority to pick the company to build and operate a new water treatment facility.
     
10/1/2002   Superior Court judge Francis Darigan rules that the council had authority to approve funding but not to pick the vendor.
     
9/13/2002 T New cost issues arise in water plant dispute
     
7/9/2002 J State says water rate hike won't be OK'd to pay fines
    A battle between the Pawtucket Water Supply Board and the City Council is delaying construction of a new water treatment plant.