2024 Water Quality Dashboard
Detected Level vs Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)
All results are below federal drinking water standards. Your water is safe.
At the NWD, our top priority is providing safe, clean, and reliable drinking water to customers across Aquidneck Island. We are committed to maintaining the highest water quality standards to protect your health, safeguard the environment, and ensure the long-term sustainability of our water resources. Our water consistently meets or exceeds all state and federal regulations established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH).
Quick Facts
Schedule a Water Treatment Plant Tour
Curious about where your drinking water comes from? Schools, community groups, and civic organizations are welcome to tour our modern treatment facilities. Call 401-845-5600, we’d love to show you around!
Why The Water System Matters
Clean drinking water doesn’t happen by chance, it’s the result of careful science, strict regulation, and community stewardship.
The EPA and RIDOH set regulatory limits for substances in public drinking water. NWD ensures compliance with these regulation through our rigorous monitoring and testing program, ensuring that water from our reservoirs to your tap is always safe to drink.
To protect our source water, NWD has also acquired more than 350 acres of conservation easements, preserving the natural lands that feed our reservoirs.
Continuous Water Quality Monitoring
Commitment to transparency
Regular testing ensures your water always meets the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) set by EPA and RIDOH. In compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, NWD publishes an Annual Water Quality Report (also known as a Consumer Confidence Report) summarizing test results and system performance each year. Our reports, dating back to 2004, are available below and provide a clear, year-by-year look at how Newport’s water continues to meet or exceed all safety standards.
Consumer Confidence Reports
How We Treat Your Drinking Water
NWD is dedicated to delivering safe, clean, and reliable drinking water throughout Aquidneck Island.
Our two state-of-the-art water treatment plants, located in Newport and Portsmouth, were the first in Rhode Island to use advanced, multi-stage treatment technology. Together, they can produce up to 16 million gallons of high-quality drinking water each day.
We draw our water from nine surface reservoirs across Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Tiverton, and Little Compton. The primary water supplies include South Easton Pond (Newport), Lawton Valley Reservoir and St. Mary’s Pond (Portsmouth), and Watson Reservoir (Little Compton).
These reservoirs are connected through a complex network of pipelines and pumping stations, which transport raw water to our treatment facilities. There, it undergoes a series of carefully monitored processes to ensure it meets or exceeds all state and federal drinking water standards.
Treatment Process
Below is an overview of the treatment process that transforms raw water into safe drinking water for our customers.
After treatment, the water is carefully stored and distributed through a connected network of pipes, storage tanks, and pumping stations. This system delivers reliable, high-quality water to homes, businesses, and industries across the the island, any time it’s needed for drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing, and everyday life.
History
At the request of the City, the Newport Water Works Company built Newport’s first modern water treatment plant in 1910 on Marlborough Street, which was later demolished.
As demand grew, particularly during World War II, the Lawton Valley Water Treatment Plant in Portsmouth was constructed in 1942 to expand capacity and support the war effort. Decades later, in 1991, the Station 1 Water Treatment Plant in Newport was built to meet modern water quality standards and the community’s increasing needs.
By 2004, a comprehensive Water Treatment Plant Compliance Evaluation determined that the original Lawton Valley facility had exceeded its useful life and could not be upgraded cost-effectively. The study also found that Station 1 required significant improvements to reliably achieve its design capacity of 9 million gallons per day (MGD), as it was limited to approximately 6 MGD without risking water quality.
Due to the scale and cost of the required upgrades, implementation was delayed until 2012–2013, when NWD secured an $85 million loan through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This investment funded the complete replacement of Lawton Valley with a new, state-of-the-art facility and major upgrades to Station 1. Both construction projects were successfully completed in 2014.
The treatment processes at both plants were designed to mirror one another, ensuring:
- Operational flexibility and staff interchangeability
- Standardized chemicals, controls, and equipment
- Consistent, high-quality water treatment across the system
These improvements made Lawton Valley and Station 1 the first advanced treatment plants in Rhode Island, setting a new benchmark for water quality and reliability statewide.
