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Newport utilities director urges regional approach as treatment, lead‑line and wastewater costs rise
Summary
Robert C. Schultz Jr., director of the City of Newport Department of Utilities, told Middletown councilors that rising chemical and energy costs, lead‑service‑line work and a wastewater clarifier project all pose large fiscal challenges and argued for coordinated regional planning and state support.
Robert C. Schultz Jr., director of the City of Newport Department of Utilities, told the Town of Middletown council that the utility is operating as a de‑facto regional system and faces mounting fiscal and regulatory pressures that will require coordinated planning and additional funding.
Schultz outlined four interlocking risks — fiscal, regulatory, public‑health and aging underground assets — and described steps Newport Water has taken to modernize operations and base decisions on data and risk. He said chemical costs for treating raw water have risen more than 140% in recent years and the utility recently completed a rate case and expects additional rate proceedings.
On lead service lines, Schultz said the scale of potential replacement is large and that preliminary scenarios have ranged widely: "it's gonna be 50 to $105,000,000 over 10 years," he said, adding that the program has been narrowed in the town's initial outreach (letters sent to customers were reduced from about 10,000 to about 3,000) and that priority will be given to schools, childcare facilities and locations with highest risk. He also described ongoing sampling work and said most high readings encountered have been linked to building plumbing or grounding issues rather than the utility's service lines.
Schultz also described a major wastewater improvement at Newport's treatment plant that he said is "not to exceed $25,000,000," with Middletown's share to be prorated and likely to be roughly one‑third depending on flow allocations. He said the project will be pursued through SRF and other funding avenues but cautioned that state principal forgiveness programs prioritize lower‑income communities and that Middletown was currently classified in a higher tier for some programs.
Throughout the presentation Schultz emphasized that the systems are interconnected — water, sewer and drainage — and urged continued regional coordination and close communication with town officials as projects move into design and potential funding phases.
