§ 46-15.1-5. Powers.
(a) The board shall carry out its functions and shall have the following powers:
(1) To adopt a seal and to alter the seal from time to time;
(2) To sue and be sued;
(3) To purchase, hold, and dispose of real and personal property, or interests therein,
and to lease the property as lessee or lessor;
(4) To make or cause to be made such surveys and borings as it may deem necessary;
(5) To engage engineering, legal, accounting, and other professional services;
(6) To make contracts;
(7) To employ personnel and fix their rates of compensation;
(8) To borrow money and issue its bonds and notes as hereinafter provided;
(9) To apply and contract for and to expend assistance from the United States or other
sources, whether in the form of a grant or loan or otherwise;
(10) To adopt and amend bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its
business;
(11) To invest or deposit funds in demand deposits, savings deposits, and time deposits
in any bank or trust company which is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
or in any obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States or any agency or instrumentality
thereof, or as provided in § 35-10-11;
(12) To establish, operate, and maintain or lease to others, or contract with others for
the use of, such water supply facilities as may be reasonably required for the fulfillment
of its purposes;
(13) To purchase and sell water;
(14) To exercise such other powers as may be necessary or incidental to the exercise of
the foregoing powers or to the accomplishment of the purposes of the board;
(15) To acquire, within the limitation of funds therefor, the sites, appurtenant marginal
lands, dams, waters, water rights, rights of way, easements, and other property in
interests in property for reservoirs, groundwater wells, well sites, and for such
pipe lines, aqueducts, pumping stations, filtration plants, and auxiliary structures
as may be necessary or desirable for the treatment and distribution of water from
those reservoirs, groundwater wells, and well sites. Lands acquired under the provisions
of this section shall be acquired with the approval of the governor by purchase, gift,
devise, or otherwise on such terms and conditions as the board shall determine, or
by the exercise of eminent domain, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 6 of title 37, as amended, insofar as those provisions are consistent with the provisions hereof;
(16) To construct or purchase water reservoirs, wells and well sites, processing facilities,
transmission or distribution systems, and other facilities, including existing facilities
of municipal water agencies or departments, special water districts, or private water
companies, necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter and to implement its
plans and program;
(17) To acquire the assets, assume the liabilities, or to effect the merger into itself
of any corporation or other organization, including public or private water supply
systems incorporated or organized under the laws of this state, which corporation
or organization has as its principal business the establishment of water supply facilities
or provision of related services, all upon such terms and for such consideration as
the board shall deem to be appropriate;
(18) To lease, sell, or otherwise convey any reservoir sites or other water supply or distribution
facilities acquired, constructed, or purchased by the board to any municipal water
agency or department or special water district or private water company, upon such
terms as the board shall deem appropriate;
(19) To provide for cooperative development, conservation, and use of water resources by
the state, municipal agencies or departments, special water districts or privately
owned water systems, the board may:
(i) Authorize publicly or privately owned water supply agencies to build structures or
install equipment on land owned or leased by the board.
(ii) Enter into contracts with publicly or privately owned water supply agencies for operation
of any facilities owned or leased by the board or operate any such facility by itself.
(20) To enter into contracts to supply raw or processed water to publicly or privately
owned water supply agencies, which shall be approved as to substance by the director
of administration and as to form by the attorney general;
(21) To review all plans and proposals for construction or installation of facilities for
water supply in accordance with the applicable sections of chapter 15 of this title;
(22) To make loans to publicly owned water supply agencies for acquisition, construction,
and renovation of water supply facilities from funds which may be appropriated for
this purpose by the general assembly, from bonds issued for this purpose, or from
other funds which may become available to the board for this purpose;
(23) To borrow money temporarily from the water development fund, for the purposes of this
chapter, and to implement its plans and programs relating to reservoir development,
exclusive of the acquisition of sites for the development of surface reservoirs, in
anticipation of revenue or federal aid;
(24) To enter into contracts and/or agreements with such departments, divisions, agencies,
or boards of the state as are directed by the governor to regulate, manage, or perform
related functions on any lands or waters acquired under the provisions of the Big
River — Wood River Reservoir Site Acquisition Act (P.L. of 1964, chapter 133); and
(25) To compensate the departments, divisions, agencies, or boards from the water development
fund in an amount equal to the cost of providing the functions or services as are
directed to be performed by the governor. The compensation shall be mandatory and
shall be provided according to procedures established by the department of administration.
(b) The board as a body politic and corporate and public instrumentality created pursuant
to this chapter is subject to § 46-15.1-5(1) — (25). The board as the state agency pursuant to chapter 15 of this title is subject
to § 46-15.1-5(15) — (25).