Protect groundwater while expanding affordable housing stock.
“Some wells and public water systems in parts of Rhode Island are already showing signs of stress. In my own district, some homes in the Quonochontaug Neck neighborhood have seen their wells go dry temporarily during summer droughts, and homeowners in Jamestown have faced failing wells and a public water system that officials are worried is reaching its limits,” said Senator Gu (D-Dist. 38, Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown).
“Especially in coastal neighborhoods that were overbuilt before zoning laws existed,
it is important that continued development doesn’t stress groundwater resources
beyond their capacity.”
Said Representative Cotter (D-Dist. 39, Exeter, Richmond,
Hopkinton), “Rhode Island is in a housing crisis and it’s important for every
community to do its part to solve it. However, it would be short-sighted and
counterproductive to allow housing development to put at risk the groundwater
resources that supply drinking water across the state. This bill will keep
affordable housing incentives intact while ensuring that the clean groundwater
that keeps Rhode Island green and livable is protected.”
Under Rhode Island law, municipalities whose low- or moderate-income (LMI) housing units make up less than 10 percent of their year-round housing supply must provide density bonuses beyond the zoned density of the property for projects that contain at least 25 percent LMI units.
The bonuses vary based on the percentage of LMI units in the
development and whether the property is connected to public sewer and water or
using well water and a septic system. The development still needs to pass all
environment regulations, including a septic permit, for the total planned
density, including the bonus units.
Wetlands, easements and rights of way and land needed for
roadway infrastructure are already excluded from these bonuses.
The bill (2026-S 26911, 2026-H 8032) would exclude public drinking water watersheds
and areas classified by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
as important public groundwater resources from these density bonuses. These are
groundwater resource areas, which are designed by DEM as “GAA,” include major
state aquifers, wellhead protection areas and groundwater dependent areas that
are physically isolated from alternative water supplies, like Block Island.
These areas make up about 21% of Rhode Island.
The bill would also ensure that to be eligible for these
density bonuses, properties would not only have to have access to either public
water or a private well, as the law currently requires, but also that the
applicable water system has the capacity to support the proposed density of the
project.
About two-thirds of Rhode Island’s municipalities rely on
groundwater as a significant source of drinking water, and DEM considers the
state’s groundwater resources vulnerable to contamination due to their generally
shallow depth and permeability to outside contaminates.
