How Well Is Rhode Island Preparing For Water Efficiency, Conservation?

RHODE ISLAND — Despite prolonged drought conditions, California, Texas and Arizona led the nation in water efficiency and conservation in a new analysis of state policy released Wednesday by the Alliance for Water Efficiency. Rhode Island ranked No. 11 nationally with a score of 40.5 out of a possible 89 points.

Making sure water is available and affordable is a matter of survival everywhere as drought-fueled climate change threatens water supplies, but especially in drought-stricken states in the West and Southwest, the group reported with the release of its 2022 U.S. State Policy Scorecard for Water Efficiency and Sustainability.

The Alliance for Water Efficiency, a nonprofit organization whose members include water utilities, conservation groups and businesses, has released the scorecard every five years since 2012. States were surveyed on 23 questions on a variety of policies, including those addressing a wide range of sustainability issues.

The Alliance for Water Efficiency scorecard was developed to encourage state legislators to adopt policies addressing water efficiency, conservation, and sustainability. Here’s how Rhode Island ranked in various categories:

1. Plumbing fixture standards and codes: 9 points out of a possible 12.
2. Water loss control: 1 point out of a possible 11.
3. Water conservation planning: 12.5 points out of a possible 27.5.
4. Drought preparedness planning: 8 points out of a possible 8.5 points
5. Climate action planning: zero points out of a possible 4.
6. Water-land use planning integration: four points out of a possible 6.
7. State-funding for water efficiency programs: zero points out of a possible 4.
8. State-provided technical assistance for water efficiency: zero points out of a possible 3.
9. Rate structures that encourage conservation: 4 points out of a possible 4.
10. State funding for water bill assistance: zero points out of a possible 2.
11. State funding and support for water reuse: zero points out of a possible 4.
12. Accounting for energy savings for water efficiency: zero points out of 1 possible.
13. Completion of survey: 2 points out of a possible 2.

Among the New England states, Rhode Island ranked No. 2.

Among the group’s recommendations for Rhode Island are:

• Adopt policies to reduce water loss in utility distribution systems

• Allocate state funds to support water conservation and customer assistance programs
• Require water utilities to develop and implement climate change plans.

What’s happening in Colorado River Basin states is a cautionary story as drought becomes increasingly common across the country, the report noted. Nearly every U.S. state experienced some level of drought in 2022.

Atmospheric river storms have put a dent in California’s drought, but not enough to offset the moisture deficits that have been entrenched for two or three years, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. While the improvement is significant, most of the state remains in the “severe” or “moderate” categories of drought, with small areas of the far northwest and far southwest in a status described as “abnormally dry,” the lowest level.

The state ranked first in the Colorado River Basin region, which also includes Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah And Wyoming. In June, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation called on those states to significantly reduce water use or face the prospect of the federal government stepping in.

The Colorado River system supplies water and hydropower to about 40 million people. At a Senate hearing in June, Bureau of Reclamation hydraulic engineer James Prairie said predictions continue to show lower flows into Lakes Powell and Mead, the two largest reservoirs in the United States. Both recently hit the lowest levels on record, and by early 2024, water levels in Lake Powell could be too low for hydropower turbines to operate and generate electricity.

While some states improved since the organization’s last scorecard in 2017, the analysis found little progress overall, even as droughts and other climate change effects increasingly undermine affordable, reliable water service, the report said, noting a state average score of only 23 out of 89 possible points.

“Providing sustainable water services is increasingly costly and complicated because of climate change and other factors,” Ron Burke, the president and CEO of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, said in a news release. “It’s important that states, as well as the federal government, support local efforts to reduce water use with financial assistance, policies that drive best practices, and planning that facilitates cooperation across watersheds.”

Effective state-level water conservation policies are even more important now that the U.S. Congress has authorized billions of dollars in loans and grants for water services as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, the report said. Many of these funds will be administered by states and can only be maximized with good state policies in place.