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Rhode Island

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77 systems serving 983,259 people

This drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by water utilities in Rhode Island, provided to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) by the Rhode Island Department of Health. It is part of EWG's national database that includes 47,667 drinking water utilities and 20 million test results from 45 states and the District of Columbia. Water utilities nationwide detected more than 300 pollutants between 2004 and 2009. More than half of these chemicals are unregulated, legal in any amount. Despite this widespread contamination, the federal government invests few resources in protecting rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater from pollution in the first place. The information below summarizes drinking water quality for this state.

	Chemicals	Water Utilities	Population Served
Detected Chemicals	80	77	958,426
Exceed health guidelines*	37	69	956,990
Exceed Legal Limits*	12	24	356,942
Unregulated chemicals detected	29	39	546,588
* Water utilities are noted as exceeding the legal limit if any test is above the maximum contaminant level (MCL). Most MCLs are based on annual averages so exceeding the MCL for one test does not necessarily indicate that the system is out of compliance.

37 Contaminants Exceeding Health Based Limits

Contaminants detected in Rhode Island drinking water above health guidelines, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis of data obtained from state water authorities

Contaminant	Population		Number of Systems
	At Any Level	Above Health Limits	At Any Level	Above Health Limits
Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)	911,495	885,140	40	25
Total haloacetic acids (HAAs)	784,836	784,836	20	20
Bromodichloromethane	768,852	768,852	24	24
Chloroform	845,307	764,957	38	20
Dibromochloromethane	471,112	471,112	21	21
Radium-228	349,059	349,059	19	19
Combined Radium (-226 & -228)	345,389	345,389	19	19
Bromoform	229,345	229,345	11	11
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate	208,953	208,953	13	13
Benzo[a]pyrene	154,709	154,709	4	4

Water Utilities in Rhode Island Reporting Chemicals Exceeding Health Guidelines

Water utilities in Rhode Island reporting chemicals exceeding health guidelines, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis of data obtained from state water authorities, include:

System	Population	Chemicals tested	Chemicals found	Chemicals exceeding health guidelines
City of Newport	43,809	146	29	16
Bristol County Water Authority	51,000	145	20	15
Town of Cumberland	21,900	146	19	13
RI Community Living & Support (Ladd	353	129	19	11
Westerly Water Department	38,000	125	18	11
Jamestown Water Department	3,178	145	13	10
City of Pawtucket	99,166	148	24	10
Kent County Water Authority	70,000	147	25	10
Stone Bridge Fire District	2,500	150	14	9
Pascoag Utility District, Water Division	3,500	147	10	9
Harrisville Fire District	2,642	148	16	8
Woonsocket Water Department	46,000	153	17	8
United Water Rhode Island	17,500	152	15	7
North Tiverton Fire District	8,969	70	12	7
Shadow Woods AT Deer Brook	30	123	9	6
South Kingstown-South Shore	3,811	141	7	6
Prudence Island Water District	1,500	142	9	6
Portsmouth Water & Fire District	16,270	75	8	6
Naval Station, Newport	7,871	60	6	6
Saugatucket Springs	110	149	9	5

Sources of Rhode Island Drinking Water Contaminants

The contaminants identified in Rhode Island drinking water come from a wide variety of sources, including agriculture, industry, water treatment plants, and polluted storm runoff from urban areas.

80	Total Contaminants Detected (2004 - 2009)
11	Agricultural Pollutants (pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms) Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Simazine, Metolachlor, Atrazine, Dacthal, 2,4-D, Chlordane, Monochlorobenzene (Chlorobenzene), Ethylbenzene
31	Sprawl and Urban Pollutants (road runoff, lawn pesticides, human waste) Cadmium (total), Copper, Lead (total), Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Antimony (total), Di(2-Ethylhexyl) adipate, Dacthal, 2,4-D, Naphthalene, MTBE, Fluorene, Phenanthrene, Pyrene, Di-n-butylphthalate, Chrysene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, Benzo[a]pyrene, Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, Dibenz[a,h]anthracene, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Xylenes (total), Chlordane, Dichloromethane (methylene chloride), Tetrachloroethylene, o-Xylene, n-Propylbenzene, m- & p- Xylene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene & Benzo[k]fluoranthene
59	Industrial Pollutants Barium (total), Cadmium (total), Chromium (total), Lead (total), Manganese, Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Antimony (total), Beryllium (total), Thallium (total), Di(2-Ethylhexyl) adipate, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Chloromethane, Dichlorodifluoromethane, Naphthalene, MTBE, Acenaphthylene, Isophorone, Fluorene, Phenanthrene, Pyrene, Di-n-butylphthalate, Chrysene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, Dibenz[a,h]anthracene, Aroclor 1232, Aroclor 1248, Aroclor 1254, Aroclor 1260, Dibromomethane, 1,1-Dichloropropene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, n-Butylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene, Xylenes (total), Dichloromethane (methylene chloride), o-Chlorotoluene, p-Chlorotoluene, 1,1-Dichloroethane, Carbon tetrachloride, Trichloroethylene, Tetrachloroethylene, Monochlorobenzene (Chlorobenzene), Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Isopropylbenzene, Styrene, o-Xylene, n-Propylbenzene, m- & p- Xylene, Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Combined Uranium (mg/L), Combined Radium (-226 & -228), Radium-226, Radium-228, Combined Uranium (pCi/L), Gross beta particle activity (pCi/L)
18	Water Treatment and Distribution Byproducts (pipes and fixtures, treatment chemicals and byproducts) Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), Total haloacetic acids (HAAs), Chloroform, Bromodichloromethane, Dibromochloromethane, Dichloroacetic acid, Trichloroacetic acid, Bromoform, Dibromoacetic acid, Monochloroacetic acid, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Cadmium (total), Chloromethane, Dibromomethane, Benzo[a]pyrene, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene & Benzo[k]fluoranthene
16	Naturally Occurring (naturally present but increased for lands denuded by sprawl, agriculture, or industrial development) Nitrate, Copper, Nitrate & nitrite, Barium (total), Lead (total), Manganese, Radium-228, Radium-226, Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Combined Radium (-226 & -228), Gross beta particle activity (pCi/L), Combined Uranium (pCi/L), Chromium (total), Combined Uranium (mg/L), Nitrite, Chloromethane
30	Unregulated Contaminants EPA has not established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for these contaminants Lead (total), Metolachlor, Dacthal, Chloromethane, Dichlorodifluoromethane, Naphthalene, MTBE, Acenaphthylene, Isophorone, Fluorene, Phenanthrene, Pyrene, Di-n-butylphthalate, Chrysene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, Dibenz[a,h]anthracene, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Dibromomethane, 1,1-Dichloropropene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, n-Butylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene, o-Chlorotoluene, p-Chlorotoluene, 1,1-Dichloroethane, Isopropylbenzene, n-Propylbenzene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene & Benzo[k]fluoranthene

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Testing Summary for Rhode Island

The federal government has set standards for some of the pollutants found in tap water supplies.

Contaminants reported as tested by water suppliers in Rhode Island		160
	Contaminants tested due to federal law:	89
	Contaminants tested in addition to those required by federal law:	71

Violation Summary for Rhode Island

Data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency includes the following violations of federal standards in Rhode Island since 2004

Violation Type	Number of Violations
Maximum contaminant level, Monthly (Coliform bacteria)	64
Failure to report information to the public or state agency in the Consumer Confidence Report	37
Follow-up and Routine Tap Sampling	29
Over maximum contaminant level, Average	28
Failure to monitor, Routine Major (Coliform bacteria)	17
Inadequate reporting of information to the public	13
Monitoring and Reporting Disinfection Byproduct Rule	11
Public Notification Violation for National Primary Drinking Water Regulations	6
Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	6
Maximum contaminant level, Acute (Coliform bacteria)	5
Failure to monitor, Repeat Major (Coliform bacteria)	5
Failure to monitor, Repeat Minor (Coliform bacteria)	5
Failure to monitor, Routine Minor (Coliform bacteria)	3
Initial Tap Sampling for Lead and Copper	2
Public Education	1
Lead Service Line Replacement	1
Over maximum contaminant level, Single Sample	1
Other Non-National Primary Drinking Water Regulations Potential Health Risks	1
Excess Turbidity at 1 NTU	1
Excess Turbidity at 0.3 NTU	1