Tell Rhode Island Senate To Protect Drinking Water From Too Dense Housing

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Let the Rhode Island Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee know that you support Senator Victoria Gu’s bill to protect our environment and natural resources. This bill would give local communities greater control over the density of housing developments built on public drinking water supply watersheds and groundwater so clean it is classified as suitable for drinking without treatment.

In Charlestown, all homes depend on wells and septic systems. To protect our drinking water and the health of our freshwater and saltwater ponds, our town has relied on zoning to maintain enough upland area to filter contaminants before they reach the groundwater. For this reason, 3-acre zoning districts sit on top of aquifers, and 2-acre zoning districts cover areas that recharge them.

If a developer designates as little as 25% of units as affordable, the density bonuses in the current Low and Moderate Income Housing Act allow increases of 600% to 900% over the underlying zoning. Where one house was allowed in a 2-acre zone, seven can now be built; where one house was allowed in a 3-acre zone, ten can be built. Most developers propose the minimum number of affordable units, leaving 75% at market rate — but if a higher percentage of affordable units is proposed, these increases can climb as high as 2,400%, meaning 25 units where zoning allows only one.

Our zoning is designed to protect our drinking water. These enormous density bonuses are not.

Charlestown’s Senator Victoria Gu has recognized this threat to drinking water supplies and submitted S 2691 to reform Rhode Island’s Low and Moderate Income (LMI) Housing Act and encourage more responsible housing development. This bill accommodates low and moderate income housing without extreme negative impacts on the quantity or quality of Rhode Island’s precious and irreplaceable drinking water supplies. Senator Gu’s proposed changes appear on pages 2 and 3 of the existing law and are highlighted in blue.

Senator Gu’s changes only impact ground water classified as GAA, while Representative Megan Cotter’s bill in the House is more comprehensive and also includes water classified as GA. Groundwater classified as GAA and GA both represent the highest quality water, suitable for public drinking water without treatment. GAA encompasses major aquifers, critical recharge areas, and community wellhead protection areas. GA also requires high-level protection, which it is not getting under the current Low and Moderate Income Housing Act. Despite not including GA waters, Senator Gu’s bill is still a step in the right direction.

Please support this legislation by sending an email to the Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee, which will be reviewing this proposed bill on Thursday, March 26.

Send your own message, or feel free to use all or part of the sample email below.

  • Attach your written testimony in PDF format if you are able.
  • Include your name and address.
  • State that you are in favor of S 2691 and explain why.

Send to the following legislative email addresses:

If you live in Charlestown, please also copy:

Sample email subject line: Support S 2691 — Low and Moderate Income Housing

In the body of your email, include:

  • “I am in favor of S 2691”
  • Your name
  • Your home address, including town and state

Sample Letter

Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee
March 23, 2026
Rhode Island General Assembly
82 Smith Street
Providence, RI 02903

Subject: Support S 2691 — Low and Moderate Income Housing

Dear Chairman Bissaillon and Members of the Committee:

I respectfully urge the Committee to adopt S 2691. I commend the sponsor of this important legislation, Senator Victoria Gu, and the co-sponsors — Senators Euer, DiMario, Murray, and Burke — for their leadership in recognizing the need to reform Rhode Island’s Low and Moderate Income (LMI) Housing Act to encourage more responsible housing development.

This bill provides common-sense amendments to accommodate low and moderate income housing without negatively impacting the quantity or quality of Rhode Island’s precious and irreplaceable drinking water supplies.

The current LMI Act allows density bonuses of up to 8 housing units per acre in areas that sit on top of aquifers and recharge zones that are the sole source of our community’s drinking water. Depending on the underlying zoning and the percentage of market-rate units, these density increases can range from 200% to 2,400% — and that does not include the potential for accessory dwelling units on each lot or for units to be duplexes. These are extraordinarily excessive density bonuses.

RI DEM Onsite Wastewater Treatment System rules focus on individual system compliance rather than cumulative impact analysis. While designed to prevent individual failures, they fail to address the collective, long-term nutrient loading from high-density, individual septic systems on groundwater and coastal watersheds. Cumulative impacts are addressed by municipal zoning, but the current LMI Act overrules a town’s zoning.

I support the need for more low and moderate income housing in Rhode Island. However, housing must be developed in ways that do not pollute our drinking water or overtax limited groundwater supplies. Rhode Island must have clean, safe, and sustainable drinking water to support existing residents and encourage future growth and economic development. The future prosperity of our state depends on it. I urge the Committee to adopt this bill and to consider extending protection to both GAA and GA waters.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Sincerely,
[Your name and address]

Cc: Senate President Lawson, [Your State Representative and State Senator and any others]