§ 45-48-5. Exclusive authority for water distribution — Rates — Contracts.
(a) The district is authorized to obtain and maintain for the district a supply of water
for the extinguishing of fire and for distribution to the inhabitants of the district,
for domestic use and for other purposes, and may obtain that water by the establishment
of its own works, or by contracting for it as provided in subsection (c), or in any
other manner that the district may deem necessary and proper, and is not inconsistent
with law. The district may also furnish water to inhabitants of the town of Burrillville
outside of the boundaries of the district. If the district undertakes to distribute
the water so obtained, it shall have the exclusive right to it, and may maintain an
action against any person for using the water without the consent of the district,
and may regulate the distribution and use of the water within and without the district,
and from time to time fix water rates and charges for the water and water facilities
furnished by the district, which may be based upon the quantity of water used, or
the number and kind of water connections made, or the number and kind of plumbing
fixtures installed on the estate, or upon the number or average number of persons
residing or working in or otherwise connected with the estate, or upon any other factor
affecting the use of or the value or cost of the water and water facilities furnished,
or upon any combination of these factors, and the owner of any house, building, tenement,
or estate is liable for the payment of the water rates and charges fixed by the district;
and the water rate and charges are be a lien upon the house, building, tenement, and
estate in the same way and manner as taxes assessed on real estate or liens, and,
if not paid as required by the district, shall be collected by the district in the
same manner that taxes assessed on real estate are by law collected. Nothing in this
section, or any other section of this chapter, shall be construed as giving to the
district an exclusive franchise to furnish water outside of the boundaries of the
district.
(b) Without limiting the generality of the previous provisions as to water rates and charges,
any contract for the sale of water to inhabitants of the town of Burrillville outside
of the boundaries of the district may be recorded in the same manner as a deed of
land, and, upon the recording, the obligations of the owner of the real property involved
are a lien on the property and the lien is enforceable in the same manner as taxes
assessed on real estate are by law collected.
(c) The district is authorized to contract, for periods not exceeding forty (40) years,
with the state, any other municipal or quasi municipal corporation, or with the owners
of any privately owned water system for the purchase or sale of water or for the use
of water facilities, and the state, the other municipal or quasi municipal corporations,
and the owners of privately owned water systems are authorized to enter into contracts
with the district. In the event that the Nasonville district is furnished with water
through the extension of an existing water system not within the district, the extension
to the Nasonville district shall not cause the existing water system to be deemed
a public utility if, prior to the extension, the system had not been a public utility
as defined in § 39-1-2(20). Nor shall Nasonville district be deemed a public utility pursuant to that section
if it supplies water to homes outside of the district where the groundwater is, or
reasonably may be expected to become, contaminated in a manner that would render it
unfit for consumption.