Local Officials

On the local level, the primary parties involved were the Pascoag Utility District and the Harrisville Water Department, water supplier to the neighboring village. The Burrillville Town Council also became involved in trying to facilitate a solution.

Pascoag Utility District (PUD)
The PUD is a private, non-profit utility overseen by a ratepayer-elected Board of Directors. With an approximate annual operating budget of $100,000, the PUD was not prepared for the financial realities of a large-scale contamination and cleanup. PUD General Manager Ted Garille said he quickly realized in September that "we needed help." The district accepted donations of bottled water from several private companies and held weekly water giveaways on Thursday nights. Members of the PUD board were resistant to proposals for a merger with the Harrisville Water Department; ultimately Pascoag ratepayers voted down the merger. The PUD is currently attempting to negotiate a deal with Ocean State Power to sell them thousands of gallons of the contaminated water for use in their power-generating plant. The PUD is also actively searching for a new water source. Ratepayers will be voting on whether to increase water rates to support further well exploration in the coming month. The district also hopes to find state grant money for this well exploration.

Harrisville Fire Department (HFD)
The Harrisville Fire Department, which encompasses the Harrisville Water Department, was called upon to come to the aid of the PUD. The two utilities had an existing mutual-aid agreement, and only minor new infrastructure was needed to connect the two water systems. However, it was concluded that the Harrisville Water Department would not have the capacity to supply all of Pascoag's water needs without installing new wells. Beginning in early October 2001, HFD water was pumped into the Pascoag system at a rate of 100,000 gallons per day in an effort to dilute the water and lower MTBE levels, though not down to drinkable standards. Meanwhile, existing plans to develop two new Harrisville wells in Eccleston Field were expedited to bring them on line in January. The HFD stated that they would supply Pascoag with water only if the water districts merged. Although the HFD board was amenable to merging with the PUD, the Pascoag ratepayers voted down the proposed merger in January 2002, and only after Judge Fortunato's ruling in Superior Court shutting off the Pascoag wells and forcing the HFD to supply water to Pascoag did the HFD begin to do so. PUD customers continue to purchase Harrisville water at retail rates.

Burrillville Town Council
The Burrillville Town Council is the local governing body for the town of Burrillville, including Pascoag, Harrisville and several other villages. Because the individual villages do not have their own governing bodies, decisions about local issues and allocation of local resources are made at the town level by the Council. In addition to twice-monthly meetings, the seven-member council also holds occasional hearings and workshops. The council has the power to collect taxes and issue bonds, and oversees Burrillville municipal departments including finance, planning, police and wastewater treatment. At the time of the Pascoag contamination, five of seven Town Council members were Pascoag residents.

On September 26, 2001, at a special hearing, the Town Council agreed to advance a $200,000 Community Development Block Grant to the Pascoag Utility District to assist with costs of the MTBE contamination (as of July 2002, that money had not been spent.) At the regular town council meeting on the same day, a resolution was passed appealing to Governor Almond and the General Assembly to use all resources available to help resolve the situation. The council passed other resolutions in October and November, the first a call for the state to discuss banning MTBE and the second a call for HEALTH to conduct a study or survey of the health effects of the MTBE on residents and an statement advocating the Pascoag and Harrisville water districts to at least create an immediate agreement.

On January 30, 2002, a workshop was called by Town Council President Wallace Lees to discuss the possibility of creating a town-wide water district. Representatives of each of Burrillville's seven water districts appeared at the workshop. Despite Town Manager Michael Wood's statements that a coordinated water system would facilitate long-term planning, the idea of a unified water district met with strong resistance from several council members.