Official State of Rhode Island website

State of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Wastewater Treatment Facility - Operations & Maintenance

Wastewater Treatment Facilities Cybersecurity

Report a Wastewater Emergency or Overflow in Rhode Island

Owners and operators of Rhode Island wastewater facilities (collection systems, pumping stations, treatment facilities, etc.) must immediately provide verbal notification of wastewater emergencies and/or sanitary sewer overflows to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), Office of Water Resources' Operations and Maintenance Section (O&M Section).

  • If you call during business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM through 4:00 PM), please call the O&M Section’s wastewater hotline at 401-563-8202.
  • When calling to report a wastewater emergency or sanitary sewer overflow, you must speak with a RIDEM staff member. DO NOT leave a recorded message with the details of the event.
  • If no O&M Section staff are available through the wastewater hotline, leave your name, community/facility, and a callback number, then try calling members of the O&M Section directly (under the dropdown for Water Resources → Wastewater Treatment Facility - Operations and Maintenance).
  • If you call outside of business hours, call the RIDEM emergency hotline (401-222-3070) to report the incident.

Please note that in addition to an immediate verbal report, an electronic report must be submitted to RIDEM through Net-SewerOverflow within five (5) calendar days of the event's discovery.

NeT-SewerOverflow is a Web-based tool that allows RIPDES permittees and wastewater collection system owners to electronically sign and submit their written reports of sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) to RIDEM via a secure internet connection. Electronic submission of these reports is required under the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule, and NeTSewerOverflow is designed to meet this requirement and improve data quality and transparency.

Owners and operators of wastewater facilities (collection systems, pumping stations, treatment facilities, etc.) that are required to submit written reports of SSOs and/or bypasses must use NeT-SewerOverflow to submit their reports electronically to RIDEM.

Individuals who have a Central Data Exchange (CDX) account should log into their CDX account and add the NeT-SewerOverflow eReporting tool as described on RIDEM’s website.

Individuals who do not have an existing CDX account will need to register/create one.
 

The first time you open NeT-SewerOverflow you will not see any wastewater facilities in your “My Facilities” section. You will need to request permission for your Facilities and be approved before submitting any reports. Your request can be approved by the Regulatory Authority (RIDEM) and CDX users with existing “Manage” permission for that Facility.

 

Wastewater Treatment Facility O&M Resources