Pawtucket Pipeline Project

February 19, 2018

BETA is just getting started on a large, two-phase water transmission main project for the Bristol County Water Authority (BCWA). The BCWA supplies water to the towns of Warren, Bristol, and Barrington, Rhode Island. BCWA acquires their water through the Providence Water Supply Board via the cross-bay pipeline beneath the Providence River, which BETA completed for BCWA in the late 90’s. This interconnection with Providence Water is BCWA’s sole source for drinking water. The purpose of this project is to create redundancy within the water system so that BCWA and their consumers are protected should something happen to their supply.

Phase I of the project includes the installation of approximately 8,500 linear feet of 24-inch water main through the City of East Providence to tie into their water system. East Providence acquires their water through a separate interconnection with the Providence Water Supply Board and face the same issue of inadequate water supply if there was an issue with their connection to Providence.

Phase II of the project includes the installation of approximately 25,000 linear feet of water main through East Providence for the purposes of tying into Pawtucket’s water system. The completion of this two-phase project will result in a much stronger and reliable water system for BCWA and the City of East Providence.

BETA will be designing both phases of the project and completing construction services. We are currently finalizing the preferred pipeline routing for Phase I.

Once complete, BCWA and the City of East Providence will have three reliable sources of water, which will ensure a constant supply of water to their customers should something happen to one source. This also provides the flexibility for inspection, routine maintenance, and rehabilitation to be completed on some of the older transmission mains, which will further enhance the reliability of the water systems.