Providence Water FAQ

Water mains are generally located 4 feet below ground. This distance help to protect the mains from frost in colder climates.

Water mains vary in size, ranging from the smallest (6") to largest (102") in diameter.

On average, Providence Water has 250 employees.

There are approximately 6,800 fire hydrants in our distribution system.

If the average person drinks the recommended 64 ounces of water per day and lives to age 80, he/she will consume around 14,600 gallons of water during their lifetime.

Providence Water has approximately 1,100 miles of water mains in our distribution system - enough to stretch from Providence to Florida.

Providence Water has approximately 80,000 service connections.

Providence Water supplies water to (7) wholesalers - Greenville Water, the City of East Providence, Town of Smithfield, Lincoln Water, Kent County Water, Bristol Water, and the City of Warwick.

A standard toilet uses 3.5 gallons of water to flush. All of those flushes can add up to approximately 20 gallons per day.

Taking a bath requires up to 70 gallons of water.

The average resident uses about 100 gallons of water per day.

Many of the water mains in our distribution system were installed over 100 years ago.

Chlorine, ferric sulfate, fluoride, lime and orthophosphate.

The aerators located in front of our Purification Plant are used to improve the taste of the water, as well as to remove any unpleasant odors.

Providence Water serves Providence, North Providence, Cranston, Johnston, and East Smithfield.

Providence Water installs 5/8", 3/4", 1", 1.5", 2", 3", 4", 6", 8", 10", and 12" meters.

Flow from the source of water supply is entirely by gravity. At present, the mode of delivery within the distribution system is 70% by gravity and 30% by pumping.

The first water pipes in the US were made from wood (bored logs that were charred with fire).

We have several types of main in our distribution system: cast iron, ductile iron, concrete, steel, and asbestos cement.

The General Manager, the Executive Engineer and the Deputy General Manager of Administration oversee the daily operations at Providence Water.

The average depth of the Scituate Reservoir is 32 feet. The maximum depth is 90 feet.

Excluding the ice cover, the water temperature goes down to approximately 35 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and climbs to approximately 59 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer (based on the depths that we draw from, not the surface).

It takes six and a half years for the average American residence to use the amount of water required to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool (660,000 gallons). The calculation is as follows: (Scituate Reservoir) 39,746,000,000 divided by (Olympic-sized pool) 660,000 = 60,221 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The storage capacity of the Scituate Reservoir is approximately 39.7 billion gallons.

Turns occur right around April and October. During the change of season, water temperatures differ from top to bottom. The different temperature waters have different density. The heavier water sinks while the lighter water rises thus causing a seasonal turn.

Fishing is not allowed in the Scituate Reservoir.

Yes, the water needs to be treated to reduce chemical and bacteriological contaminants.

The water in the Scituate Reservoir has a tint depending on the biological species present but overall it has a blue appearance.

The average yearly rainfall at the Scituate Reservoir is approximately 50 inches.

The Scituate reservoir dam is 3,200 feet long and 100 feet high.

The surface area of the Scituate Reservoir is 5.3 sq. miles, or 3,390 acres.

1,000 species have been identified.

The watershed is 92.8 square miles.

7 million trees have been planted.

Providence Water owns 5,000 acres of water and 13,000 acres of forest.

Personal recreational activities are not compatible with drinking water security but we do encourage participation in the guided tours we offer.

Scituate, Foster, Glocester, Western Cranston, and Western Johnston.

White pine, red pine, pitch pine, scarlet oak, red oak, black oak, white oak, white ash, and yellow birch.

Coyotes, foxes, bobcats, fishers, rabbits, deer, otters, beavers, turkeys, great blue herons, and owls.

Firewood, lumber, mulch, witch hazel, maple syrup, and wood chips for energy.

The leaves of young tree seedlings.

The Barden, the Moswansicut, the Ponaganset, the Regulating, and the Westconnaug Reservoirs.

The watershed property is the largest physical asset that the City of Providence owns.

The most common source of lead exposure comes from paint in homes and buildings built before 1978. Lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust are the main sources of exposure to lead for children in the United States. The main sources of lead exposure are ingesting lead paint and inhaling dust created from home renovations (homes constructed before 1978). Lead can also be found in some household plumbing materials and some water service lines. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 10 to 20 percent of human exposure to lead may come from lead in drinking water. Infants who consume mostly mixed formula can receive 40 to 60 percent of their exposure to lead from drinking water.

See 7 Easy Steps to Reduce Lead Exposure for a source that will help you to learn how you can easily reduce your exposure to lead in drinking water.

Lead leaches into water over time through corrosion—a dissolving or wearing away of metal caused by a chemical reaction between water and your plumbing. Lead can leach into water from pipes, solder, fixtures, faucets (brass) and fittings. The amount of lead in your water depends on how long the water stays in the pipes, the water’s corrosivity, and the water's temperature.

• Homes constructed before 1945 may have lead service lines.
• Homes built after 1982 and before 1988 may have lead solder joints on their copper piping.
• Your home's brass fixtures may also contain lead.
• In 2014, Federal law mandated that all pipes, fixtures and fittings sold for the use of potable water cannot contain more than .25% lead by weight. If your home has brass fittings that have been installed before 2014, they may contain lead.

If you’re concerned your home's plumbing may contain lead pipes (lead is a dull gray metal that is soft enough to be easily scratched with a house key), you may want to have your water tested by a certified laboratory. Testing is the only way to confirm if lead is present or absent. For more information on testing your water, you can call us at (401) 521-6303.

Anyone can suffer health effects from exposure to lead, but lead is most dangerous to children younger than six years old and people who are pregnant. Lead can hurt a child's brain and nervous system and slow down growth and development. People exposed to lead as children can have lifelong difficulties with learning and behavior and may have trouble paying attention. Even small amounts of lead can harm a child. While it is rarely the primary cause of lead poisoning in Rhode Island, drinking water can be a source of lead. If a building was built or plumbed before 2014, it could have plumbing materials containing lead. For more information about health effects of lead visit health.ri.gov/lead.

Providence Water is educating our customers about steps they can take to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water and the health risks associated with exposure to lead. Providence Water has also made changes to the water treatment process to make the water less corrosive in an effort to reduce lead levels in some homes.

These measures, combined with the water main rehabilitation program's public lead service replacements and our unidirectional flushing program, are being utilized to reduce lead levels at the tap in homes with lead service connections.

Lead is a naturally occurring metal that is harmful if inhaled or swallowed. Lead can be found in air, soil, dust, food, and water.

Lead services lines on a customer’s property are not part of the public water system and are the responsibility of the property owner. The property owner owns and maintains their service line from the shutoff valve located in the sidewalk or grassed area in the street right-of-way to the water meter. Providence Water advises that you contact a licensed plumber for work on your service line. To learn more about replacing lead service lines, contact us at (401) 521-6303.

It is convenient, saves time, reduces errors, allows you to receive bills anywhere at any time and helps the environment by saving trees. You can continue to receive a paper bill, but if you elect to go paperless, you can always print out a copy of the invoice if needed.

Paying online with a credit card or electronic check saves time, gives you the flexibility to pay how and when desired, and saves money (no more stamps, paper checks or envelopes). Invoice Cloud will store your information for future use – but only if you choose to store it.

Invoice Cloud is a web-based, electronic invoice presentment and payment company that we have partnered with to provide faster, more convenient billing services to our customers. By automating billing and collections, customers can click and pay online while helping the environment and reducing clutter in their home or workspace.

If you are registered, you can login via the Providence Water website and view the bill there, or you can call Providence Water’s Customer Service at (401) 521-5070 and ask them to resend the email.

Providence Water’s customer service at (401) 521-5070 can answer most questions, but if the website is down or inoperable, please call Invoice Cloud customer service at (781) 848-3733.

Please be aware that interest will not be waived if this website is inoperable for any reason or if data entry errors occur. If the website is inoperable, payments can be made by mail, by phone, or at Providence Water’s Central Operations Facility located at 125 Dupont Drive, Providence R.I. 02907.

If you are unable to find the information you need in your online payment history or open invoices, please call Providence Water's Customer Service at (401) 521-5070.

Credit card transactions typically take 48 hours to process. An authorization is issued immediately; however, it takes 48 hours for the money to be moved.

If you feel that this fee has been assessed in error or you would like more information about late fee charges, please contact Providence Water’s office at (401) 521-5070.

Yes, each invoice is presented in PDF and HTML format. Electronic storage is recommended because it saves paper and has a beneficial impact on our environment.

Yes, your bill can be paid in any of the following ways:

• Email notification based payment – click the “View Invoice or Pay Now” button in your email
• Web based online payment – login to online bill pay via Providence Water website
• Paper check – sent by whatever means you choose, including US Postal Service. (note: many paper checks today are converted into electronic transactions once they are received by Providence Water).

Yes, simply login to your account and select “View paid or closed invoices”. If you are a registered customer, you will receive an email notification.

Yes, you can. We currently accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.

Yes, although technically your debit card will be processed like a credit card. You will not be asked to enter a pin number.

Yes, you may use one payment method for part of the transaction and another payment method for other parts of the transaction.

No, your current bank account (checking or savings) will work fine. Many payments are made electronically now, so banks are already prepared for online payments. However, if you have arranged through your bank to automatically pay your bill, you need to contact your bank and discontinue the automated payment, otherwise you may pay your bill twice.

Simply login to your account and change any of your personal information under the My Profile tab. If you are unable to change some of your information, you may need to call Providence Water and have them change it for you.

EFT transactions typically take 48 – 72 hours to process.

24 months is the standard retention period.

The information you enter on the payment screen must be exactly the same as it appears on your credit card. This information collected will be used to authorize your payment.

After you submit your payment, you will see a payment confirmation screen. It will contain your payment confirmation message. It will show an approved number for credit cards or a processed number for electronic check. You will also receive a confirmation email after your transaction is submitted. The email will include your account number, invoice number, amount paid, and confirmation message. If your electronic check does not pass through the bank, you will receive an email informing you of the rejected payment. You may need to call Providence Water in order to pay again.

No, to complete the online payment process, you will need an email address so that the system can deliver your payment confirmation. If you do not have an email address, you can obtain a free email account from any of the following services: yahoo.com, hotmail.com, or gmail.com.

No, we are only permitted to accept credit card payments online through Invoice Cloud or by phone. 

You can issue an electronic check from your bank account (checking or savings), pay by credit card, debit card, or pay by phone.

If you are registered, the only information you need to have available to complete a payment transaction is your email address and password. If you make a One Time Payment, then you will also need your bank account or credit card information and your account number.

A partial payment occurs when only part of an invoice is paid and may apply if Providence Water has elected to allow partial payments. Please contact Providence Water’s office for more information.

You can make payment or review your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is always a good idea to pay or schedule a payment at least few days before the due date to allow for processing time.

Yes, you will have 24/7 access to your account for invoice review and payment, payment history and customer service requests.

Yes, simply go into your profile and under Paperless Options, select “No, I don’t want to go paperless.” Be sure to update/save the change.

Scheduled payments are scheduled individually by you for each bill on your specified date.

Auto-pay is an automated process which pays your balance in full each billing cycle at 2am on the due date; scheduled payments are manually entered by you for the date you choose for each bill you choose.

Yes, simply go into your profile and uncheck the auto-pay box that you had previously checked when you elected to opt into auto-pay.

Yes, as long as it is changed before the date it was scheduled to be paid.

Yes. You can set up a future payment at any time prior to the bill due date.

The paperless box is generally defaulted to enroll you in paperless billing because it helps the environment.

Option 1: Customers must click on “Complete paperless process” link within email to complete enrollment. If they do not, the paperless option will not be active and will drop off system within a few days.

Option 2: Customers can log into account and cancel paperless registration. Choose > My Profile > paperless option > cancel paperless registration.

The auto-pay date will not appear under scheduled payments. Auto-pay will be debited from the customer’s account on the due date.

You will need to contact your bank and cancel your automated or scheduled payment before the payment is due (typically payments are made a couple days in advance of the due date, so don’t wait until the last minute).

If you elect to opt in to auto-pay, it means that your bills will be paid automatically on their due dates using your default credit card or bank account. This will avoid any late fees and free you from having to remember when to pay.

No, you will receive an email notification each time a new bill is ready for you to view and pay. Email notifications go to the email address used when you registered, a second email address may added if you wish to send notifications to an additional or back up email address.

Absolutely. Invoice Cloud will safely store all of your financial information using Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant systems. This includes truncating (abbreviating) account numbers so that even Providence Water does not see your complete account information.

Invoice Cloud uses the highest standards in Internet security. Account information displayed within the customer and Providence Water portals is truncated to protect confidential data. Any information retained is not shared with third parties.

PCI stands for Payment Card Industry. Compliance with the industry standards is a requirement for those that accept the major credit cards and for software providers who have applications which involve the transmission and/or storage of credit card information. If breaches are found on systems that are not PCI compliant, the major credit card companies have the ability to levy significant fines on the offending parties.

You and Providence Water’s authorized staff. No one will have access to your financial information as all check routing numbers and credit card numbers are truncated, so you never have to worry about security. As a security precaution, we don’t even show your full financial information back to you.

Yes, you will receive a confirmation email.

Yes, many customers use Macs.

There are two ways that payment responsibilities can be shared. If the other payer is part of your household, you may choose to share your login information with that individual. In a situation where personal financial data is not shared, you may forward your email notification to the individual, who will then click on the “View Invoice or Pay Now” button and elect to make a one time payment. They will need to enter their name, email address, address and payment information. They will receive the payment confirmation. You can verify their payment by viewing the invoices in your account.

Yes, an email address is required for payment confirmation. A payment receipt is sent via email.

You may need to register to receive electronic bills by email, but registration is not required for one time payments. One time payments require that you enter your payment information each time you make a payment. By registering, you avoid that step and gain access to your payment history.

Once you have registered, you will need only your email address and password to log in. To login the first time you use the system, you will need your account number or customer ID from your bill. The “locate your bill” screen gives instructions regarding the required information.

Registering is easy and can be done when you make a payment. There are two ways you can make a payment.

Option 1: When you receive an email notification that your bill is ready to be paid, simply click on the “View Invoice or Pay Now” button. You will be directed to Providence Water’s “Pay and/or View Bills Online” site, powered by Invoice Cloud. Once there, you will be given the opportunity to register or make a one time payment. If you choose to register, you will be asked to provide a password and accept the terms and conditions to use the system. The payment information you enter in your profile will then be securely encrypted and saved for your next visit.

Option 2: You can go directly to Providence Water’s website and click on the “Pay Online” button. You will then be directed to Providence Water’s “Pay and/or View Bills Online” site, powered by Invoice Cloud. Once there, you will need to locate your account and be given the opportunity to register or make a one time payment. If you choose to register, you will be asked to provide a password and accept the terms and conditions to use the system. The payment information you enter in your profile will then be securely encrypted and saved for your next visit.

It is very simple. Here are the 3 steps taken by customers:

1. Customer receives email notification or accesses account via the Providence Water website by clicking on the “View Invoice or Pay Now” button.
2. Customer locates and views invoice and either enters payment information for a “One Time Payment” or registers to schedule a payment.
3. Customer receives an email confirmation with their payment amount and payment process date.

Click on “Forgotten Password?” at the bottom of the login screen. You will need your account number and email address to retrieve your password. If you’re unable to locate this information, please call Providence Water's Customer Service at (401) 521-5070 for assistance.

The service supports all modern browsers.

By registering, you have access to all of your invoices regardless of type and all of the features of the payment portal. These features include the ability to view all current invoices, see previous invoices and payment dates, update your profile information, access the online customer service system, go paperless (if bill type allows), schedule payments for specific dates, and sign up for auto-pay. You also avoid having to enter your payment information each time you pay a bill.

Orthophosphate is a colorless, tasteless, odorless food-grade ingredient that has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Orthophosphate is being used by approximately 50% of the water utilities throughout the United States. In 2006, the EPA selected orthophosphate treatment as the optimal corrosion control treatment for reducing lead in drinking water. The addition of orthophosphate will form a protective coating on the interior of pipes, which is expected to reduce the amount of lead that is released into the water from sources such as lead service lines, lead-based solder, and household plumbing. Elevated lead levels within drinking water have been found in some homes in Providence Water’s retail area.

In 2013, Providence Water organized a panel of nationally recognized drinking water experts (expert panel) to find the best form of corrosion control treatment for our system. The expert panel recommended the use of orthophosphate, which was then approved by the Rhode Island Department of Health. Orthophosphate is approved by the EPA as the optimal corrosion control treatment for reducing lead and is used successfully throughout the United States.

Yes. Orthophosphate is approved for use by the FDA, EPA, and the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF). NSF is an independent international testing organization that certifies and writes standards for products, food, air, water and consumer goods in use. According to the EPA, the typical phosphate levels found in a liter of drinking water are about one hundred times lower than the phosphate levels found in the average American diet. For example, a person would have to drink 10 to 15 liters of water to equal the amount of phosphates in just one can of soda.

Orthophosphate should not affect the taste, color or smell of your drinking water.

Orthophosphate is used by approximately 50 percent of water utilities throughout the country. According to a 2010 survey conducted by the New England Water Works Association, more than half of the 194 New England water suppliers listed use a phosphate-based corrosion inhibitor.

Providence Water will continue to test the water on a regular basis to track the water quality and success of the orthophosphate. We will be adhering to an established monitoring process that has been approved by the Rhode Island Department of Health.

There is no evidence that orthophosphate levels found in drinking water will negatively impact septic system functionality.

Providence Water has adopted a multi-pronged approach to reducing lead in tap water. In addition to improving corrosion control treatment, Providence Water is committed to water main rehabilitation, water main flushing and public education.

Providence Water is now offering 10-year, 0% interest loans for homeowners to replace private lead service lines. If a homeowner replaces the private-side service line, Providence Water will automatically replace the public side at no cost. To find out if a residence has a public lead service line, please visit the interactive map on our Lead Service Line Replacement Programs page.

It is important to note that even if a home does not have a public lead service line, it may still have a private lead service pipe, or lead in fixtures or household plumbing. Providence Water is offering free lead testing to all retail customers in Providence, Cranston, North Providence, Johnston, and the eastern portion of Smithfield. To have a free lead test kit mailed to your home or business, please contact our Water Quality Hotline at 401-521-6303.

Chlorine is used as the primary disinfectant by many water suppliers, including Providence Water. Federal legislation known as the Surface Water Treatment Rule, effective in 1989, necessitated changes in the way disinfectants such as chlorine are applied. Since then, Providence Water has strived to maintain as low of a residual chlorine level as possible and still continue to meet the requirements of the regulation. Providence Water's residual free chlorine level for water leaving the treatment plant varies from 0.30 to 1.00 parts per million, considerably lower than many neighboring water supplies in RI, and in the United States as a whole, which often have residual chlorine levels at the consumer tap in excess of 1.00 mg/l.

For more information about lead in your drinking water, please visit provwater.com/lead.

You may need to clean your kitchen faucet's aerator to clear out any particulates that may have accumulated. Once the aerator screen has been cleaned out the water pressure at your sink should return to normal.

No, you should use your cold water tap for cooking and drinking. Hot water can dissolve lead more quickly than cold water. If you need hot water for consumption, heat cold tap water on the stove.

For assistance, please call Providence Water at (401) 521-6300.