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Council approves wastewater-chemical contracts and OKs URI campus paving and bike amenities MOU
Summary
Council approved contracts for wastewater treatment chemicals (bioxide and sodium chloride), discussed PFAS/"forever chemicals" testing and supply issues, and approved a memorandum of understanding with URI to add bicycle signage and shareroad markings as part of a short campus paving project.
The South Kingstown Town Council on July 8 approved procurement items for wastewater treatment chemicals and a memorandum of understanding with the University of Rhode Island (URI) to restripe and add bicycle amenities along a short campus section.
Public works manager Rich Burberday told the council that bioxide is used for odor control at pump stations and that the current contract price is $3.09 per gallon through September, with a proposed ordering approach allowing up to a 10% price variation on renewal. Councilors asked whether the trustees could solicit additional proposals; Burberday said the town is revising its investment policy and would consider requests for proposals periodically.
On sodium chloride, a low bid arrived from a vendor new to the town. Council members raised concerns about persistent contaminants (often described as "forever chemicals" or PFAS) in treatment chemicals and asked how long sodium chloride remains in the process and whether byproducts persist. Burberday said the plant meets current effluent requirements, that many chlorine products break down before discharge, and offered to follow up with technical details and lab results.
Separately, the council approved a paving and striping request on campus (about an 800-foot segment from Upper College to Lower College) at URI to install bicycle “sharrows” and signage. Burberday described an MOU that would require URI to pay for the work and said the road is not wide enough for a dedicated bike lane; the MOU will restrict improvements to the described scope.
All chemical procurements and the URI MOU were approved by voice vote; councilors asked staff to monitor product effectiveness and to return if sodium chloride performance proves unsatisfactory.
