Infrastructure Bank Approves $1.6 Million Loan To Connect Rockland Oaks Senior Housing Development To New Drinking Water System

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank, the state’s central hub for financing infrastructure improvements for municipalities, businesses, and homeowners, in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Health, has closed on a $1,662,100 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) loan with 100% principal forgiveness (i.e. a grant) to the Scituate Housing Authority for the connection of the Rockland Oaks Senior Housing Community to the well-based drinking water system utilized by Scituate’s middle and high schools. Since 2018, the 23 year-round tenants of Rockland Oaks have been dealing with discolored and contaminated water not fit for drinking.

In 2022, the Scituate Town Council engaged Northeast Water Solutions to develop a plan to allow Rockland Oaks to tie into the middle and high schools’ drinking water system. An analysis determined that the project would be feasible with upgrades to the system to account for increased water demand from the interconnection. With this information the Scituate School Department agreed to proceed with the interconnection project, and in July 2024, the Town of Scituate received a $1,000,000 DWSRF loan to complete water system improvements. This $1.6 million DWSRF loan will pay for the interconnection to the upgraded water system.

“The residents of Rockland Oaks deserve access to a regular supply of safe drinking water, and this $1.6 million Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loan will achieve exactly that,”
William Fazioli, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. “This project is a great example of coordination and cooperation between the Infrastructure Bank, the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Town of Scituate, the Scituate School Department, and the Scituate Housing Authority. Through the dedicated work of our Business Development Analyst Aaron Qureshi the parties identified a drinking water system upgrade and interconnection plan, as well as an innovative financing plan that will see much of the overall project’s costs covered by grant funding from the Infrastructure Bank’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program.”

“Safe drinking water is something we take for granted, and that’s why our town government and the Scituate Housing Authority have been so committed to finding a solution to help the residents of Rockland Oaks who have been dealing with this water problem for too long,”
Ted Richard, Chair of the Scituate Housing Authority. “We want to thank the team at the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank for working with us to obtain these two Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loans that will allow us to upgrade our school district’s drinking water system and have Rockland Oaks interconnect into this reliable and safe water source. This is a great win-win and an example of the power of investing in basic infrastructure to serve the residents of Scituate.”

“I was confident we could find a solution to bring safe drinking water to the residents of Rockland Oaks,”
Robert Ferrari, President of Northeast Water Solutions Inc. “We are incredibly pleased to see that the solution we developed of upgrading the school district’s water system and allowing Rockland Oaks to interconnect is going to become a reality thanks to financing through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the collaboration between town leaders, the Infrastructure Bank, and the Rhode Island Department of Health.”

“All Rhode Islanders deserve access to drinking water that is healthy and safe,”
Rhode Island Department of Health Director Jerry Larkin, MD. “Infrastructure improvement projects like these are critical to making that vision a reality.”

Construction of the overall water system upgrade and interconnection are anticipated to be completed by the end of 2025.

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund funding for this project came from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank thanks the members of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation for their work to secure these dollars for drinking water infrastructure projects across the state.

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