Oct. 31, 2024
To Our URI Community,
Last fall we shared that the University was embarking on an aggressive strategy to eliminate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the campus drinking water supply. This effort prioritizes community health and complies with new State of Rhode Island legislation regarding drinking water standards related to PFAS.
I am extremely pleased to share that earlier this month we achieved a major milestone in our efforts to permanently remove PFAS from our water supply. The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) approved the activation of phase one of our new drinking water PFAS filtration system.
The new system, which has been active for several weeks, removes PFAS to levels significantly below the new legislatively mandated threshold of 20 parts per trillion. In fact, our most recent testing indicated no detectable presence of PFAS in our campus drinking water.
According to RIDOH, our new filtration system is the first municipal-level filtration system in the state of Rhode Island.
Many members of our University community have worked tirelessly to address PFAS in our water supply. And as we recognize their efforts and this significant milestone, our work is not done. We are continuing to make enhancements to our water treatment facility and systems to ensure their longevity, and the next phase of our work will add additional filtration and PFAS-removal units.
I want to thank the URI Facilities Group, including the Office of Capital Projects and the Utility Department, for their leadership toward achieving this significant milestone. I also want to acknowledge and thank Gov. Dan McKee and the Rhode Island General Assembly for providing $20 million in Rhode Island Capital Plan funding that is essential to the success of this project.
We continue to test the campus drinking water regularly. We will continue to share quarterly updates regarding ongoing PFAS monitoring, and our water quality reports are available at https://web.uri.edu/facilities/utilities/.
Thank you,
Abby Benson
Vice President for Administration and Finance