Requires Rhode Island water suppliers to prepare a resilience assessment and a response plan for the risk of flooding.
H5845 would add a new section to Rhode Island’s Public Drinking Water Supply System Protection law requiring certain water suppliers to prepare, maintain, and implement water supply resilience plans. Beginning January 1, 2026, the covered entities—municipalities, municipal departments, districts, authorities, and other drinking water providers that obtain, transport, purchase, or sell more than 50 million gallons of water per year—would have to assess risks from natural hazards and environmental impacts and develop plans to address those risks.
The required initial risk assessment would be due by July 1, 2026, and would have to examine threats such as floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes, as well as the resilience of infrastructure, automated systems, financial systems, chemical storage and handling, and operational maintenance practices. The bill also requires evaluation of capital and operating needs, identification of funding sources, coordination with nearby water and wastewater systems, and integration with local comprehensive plans. Within six months after the assessment, each supplier must submit a response plan to the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Management, and both the assessment and response plan must be updated every three years.
The bill would expand Rhode Island law by imposing a new resilience-planning mandate on large drinking water suppliers and by creating ongoing reporting obligations to state officials, including the governor, legislative leaders, and the directors of the Department of Health and Department of Environmental Management. It would effectively require affected water systems to formalize emergency preparedness, infrastructure vulnerability analysis, interagency coordination, and long-term capital planning for climate- and disaster-related risks. The measure would take effect upon passage, but the first compliance deadlines would begin in 2026.
Based on the bill text and the available context, the measure appears to be framed as a proactive public-safety and infrastructure-resilience bill, with no recorded committee testimony or votes showing opposition or support. The sponsorship by multiple representatives suggests a broadly shared interest in strengthening drinking water system preparedness. Overall, the sentiment appears favorable or at least precautionary, centered on protecting essential water infrastructure from flooding and other natural hazards.
The main potential points of contention are the compliance burden and cost for large water suppliers, especially the need to conduct detailed assessments, produce response plans, coordinate with neighboring systems, and update plans every three years. Utilities and municipalities may be concerned about staffing, technical expertise, and funding for the required capital and operational improvements. Another possible issue is the bill’s broad scope, which reaches multiple types of public water entities and requires documentation of the effectiveness of chosen resilience measures, potentially creating administrative and reporting challenges.