On June 11, the Portsmouth Water and Fire District (PWFD) signed a special "green" $1.3M bond loan with the RI Clean Water Finance Agency (RICWFA) to fund an upgrade to a new town-wide wireless metering system, the PWFD said in a release.

According to Phil Driscoll, chair of the PWFD Board, the bond includes 100% principal forgiveness, which means that the District will not have to pay any interest or repay any of the principal on the ten-year bond. On behalf of the PWFD Board and ratepayers, Driscoll recognized and thanked the Agency executive director, Anthony Simeone for his efforts to help secure this special “green” financing.

The project includes the installation of about two dozen radio collectors and repeaters around town, swapping out 6,500 of the existing meter touch pads on buildings for radio transmitting units, replacing 1,300 meters, and implementing a new leak detection system.

RICWFA provides low-interest loans to improve water quality in the state, and is funding the project out of a 2010 Federal Capitalization Grant, which contained certain requirements for “Green” projects and principal forgiveness. The agency offers principal forgiveness for qualifying projects to help water suppliers meet the “Green” requirement, and determined that the PWFD plan met the critera for 100% principal forgiveness.

Editorial note: Written from a press release. BTW — don't forget to vote in the PWFD elections tomorrow!