Land Use 2025 - RhodeMap RI

The best locations for redevelopment and new growth should be underutilized urbanareas within the urban service boundary on the Future Land Use 2025 map. Strategicdesign based on the map will be likely to lead to the lowest future infrastructure costsbecause improvements will be concentrated within or adjacent to existing areas ofservice.Water Infrastructure / SupplyThe increasing demand for water, coupled with an approaching limited availability anddeclining water quality, has made theplanning and management of waterresources a priority to land useplanners. It is uncertain if we cansustain the current land use trends witha sufficient quantity and quality ofwater. For example, much of theState’s recent development has takenplace in areas that lack water supplyinfrastructure. State Guide PlanElements 721 through 724 provide apolicy framework for water resourceplanning to ensure that there will be awater supply adequate to support existing uses and future growth.It is conservatively assumed that the per capita water demand will remain close to 2000levels until 2025. Therefore, it seems likely that the future demands will have to be meteither by developing additional water supplies or through increased efficiency in wateruse, or a combination of both. Cost-effective projects such as water reclamation andreuse can augment local water resources and reduce demands on existing supplies. Thecontinuing development of conservation technologies and use of green buildingtechniques will contribute to the dependability of the State’s water supply.In the past, problems of water supply could be solved by digging another well or bybuilding another reservoir. While these solutions are still applicable in certain situations,they no longer offer long-term remedies in and of themselves. The high public cost ofdeveloping and maintaining public water systems, the potential for adverseenvironmental impact of new reservoirs, and contamination of both reservoir andgroundwater supplies are among the issues of concern.Water quantity and quality issues will have to be examined within future water supplymanagement plans and local comprehensive plans. Rhode Island is part of a new centuryof water management that features an ethic of efficient water use and balancing land usesthat are able to sustain the region’s economy, culture, and environment. The WaterResources Board is in the process of completing a comprehensive statewide inventory ofsurface water and groundwater resources currently existing, used, or available to supportfuture uses in nine watersheds. The agency is conducting specialized modeling activitiesLand Use 2025: Rhode Island State Land Use Policies and Plan (April 2006)3-25