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Pawtucket water board approves three-year contract for assistant chief engineer and moves to authorize water revenue bonds
Summary
At its Sept. 10 meeting, the Pawtucket Water Supply Board approved a three‑year employment agreement for its assistant chief engineer and voted to pursue an ordinance authorizing water revenue bonds and notes to fund PFAS mitigation and system upgrades.
The Pawtucket Water Supply Board on Sept. 10 approved a three‑year employment agreement for its assistant chief engineer and voted to take up an ordinance authorizing the issuance of water revenue bonds and notes to finance improvements to the city's water supply.
The board approved an employment agreement extending the assistant chief engineer's contract through 2028 with salary changes described at the meeting as aligning the position with recent pay adjustments. The board discussed the employee as a long‑tenured, "indispensable" member of the management team; no individual salary figures were announced at the public meeting.
Board members said the bond authorization is intended to provide borrowing capacity for multiple capital projects rather than to immediately issue the full amount. Board staff told members the authorization would allow the board to access a $2,200,000 loan that is structured as 100 percent principal forgiveness and to plan for future projects that may require debt financing.
Board staff described trace levels of PFAS in the groundwater supply. To address that contamination and protect treatment assets, they said the utility expects to rehabilitate existing wells, add a small number of new wells to maximize the aquifer, and eventually install PFAS removal systems at a pretreatment facility. Staff estimated a large facility could cost on the order of $30 million, and said planning will consider the life of carbon filters at the existing plant and the timing of future capital needs. The board noted the system includes four reservoirs and eight groundwater wells.
Procedurally, a board member moved to discuss and approve the employment agreement; the motion was seconded and approved. A separate motion to take up an ordinance authorizing issuance of water revenue bonds and notes "not to exceed" the amount stated in the meeting was approved so the board could move forward with the financing authorization and related administrative steps.
Why it matters: the board emphasized that authorizing borrowing capacity now gives the utility flexibility to access grant or principal‑forgiveness opportunities and to sequence larger debt issuances as older debt retires. Board members said managing debt service within the level approved by regulators will be part of future decisions.
The board did not adopt a specific bond sale at the meeting; staff said projects will be brought forward in coming months for detailed approvals and that the timing and final borrowing amounts will depend on project readiness and available grant or forgiveness funds.
No specific dollar amounts for the assistant chief engineer's salary were read into the record during the public discussion. The board did not identify an exact timetable for construction of PFAS removal facilities; staff said planning will follow well rehabilitation and water‑supply optimization steps.
