Description
Written by Robert J. Kilduff, P.E.,Esq. Retired Chief Engineer & General Manager Providence Water This quote, along with a magnified picture of a beautiful drop of water, graced the special November 19, 1978 issue of the Rhode Islander, the Providence Sunday Journal's magazine. The magazine's topic focused on the state's water supplies. I have an original, although aged and slightly frayed, copy and enjoy looking at it from time to time to read the articles, look at the advertisements, and see how much things have changed since 1978. But as the saying goes, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." It is now the twenty-first century and it is still but a drop of water - two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Simple. Understandable. This composition has not changed since the first drop was formed eons ago. Simple, yet so profound in its impact on our everyday living. We depend upon it for so much. Think of what our daily life would be without water. Like that simple, unchanging, yet beautiful drop of water, our commitment at Providence Water also remains the same: to provide safe, potable water and fire protection to our customers. Today, Providence Water is a full service utility providing drinking water and fire protection to over 60% of the state №s population. It is a commitment that can be traced to the 1860's with the successful efforts of city leaders to provide a public water supply for Providence. That commitment continued with the creation of the present Scituate Reservoir supply and with the expansion of our storage, treatment, transmission and distribution systems in anticipation of the growing needs of our retail and wholesale service areas. What are we doing today and what will we be doing in the future to continue our commitment? Providence Water began an Infrastructure Replacement Program in 1990 to stave off deterioration and obsolescence. The program was expanded in 1996 and continues today. Since 1990, Providence Water has reinvested nearly $63 million into the utility №s infrastructure and capital improvements. Looking further ahead, Providence Water needs to continue to plan for the feasibility of emergency and supplemental supplies to insure that we have adequate supplies during a natural disaster or other catastrophic event. However, our most important resource is our employees. We maintain ongoing training to provide our employees with the tools necessary to face the challenges of delivering safe, delicious, potable water in the twenty-first century. We want to make sure that safe, potable water is here now and will be here in the future for all to benefit from and enjoy. Our commitment is to remember wise old "Ben" and make sure that the "well" does not run dry.