Field notes · Foster, RI
The most rural town in the smallest state.
Foster has no public sewer, no public water, and a population of about 4,500 spread across 32 square miles. Every excavation job here is some combination of OWTS, wells, ledge, and rural access. We work it out of our Sterling, CT shop — fifteen minutes from the state line.
All OWTS via RIDEM. / All wells private. / No public utilities anywhere in town. / Glacial till + outcrop ledge.
Three things to know before you dig in Foster.
01
Septic is RIDEM, not the town.
Rhode Island calls these systems OWTS now — Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems. Foster has no public sewer, so every property runs one. New systems and major repairs need a RIDEM-licensed designer, a RIDEM-licensed installer, and a RIDEM Office of Water Resources approval before a shovel moves. The town building official picks up the rest of the building permit; the wastewater permit lives at the state level.
02
Wells are private and the pump matters.
Every Foster property gets its water from a drilled well. Coordinating well location with the OWTS leach field is the first siting question — RIDEM rules set minimum separations between the two, and Foster lots are wooded enough that the constraint isn’t always obvious. We site, we trench the supply line, and we set the well pad. The drilling itself is a licensed well driller’s job.
03
Ledge is a maybe, not an if.
Unlike Sterling next door — where granite ledge is essentially guaranteed — Foster soils vary. Glacial till uplands are common, but so are pockets of softer outcomes. We test-pit before committing to a foundation depth and quote with a rock-removal line item that goes to zero if it’s not needed. Less rock than Sterling. Still enough to plan for.
From the owner
“Foster jobs feel like Sterling jobs with a different agency on the permit. The dirt is similar, the trees are thicker, and the rules come out of Providence instead of Hartford. We’re comfortable on either side of the line.”
— DJ Roberts, owner
Foster reference list.
The agencies and resources that come up on essentially every Foster job. We coordinate the permits ourselves; this is what we’re coordinating with.
- RIDEM Office of Water ResourcesOWTS design review, repair permits, well notifications. State-level, not town.
- RIDEM Freshwater Wetlands ProgramRequired when a job is within 50 ft of a perennial stream, 100 ft of a pond, or 200 ft of a special-status wetland. Foster has many small streams; check before clearing.
- Town of Foster — Building OfficialBuilding permit, foundation inspections, certificate of occupancy.
- Foster Planning Board / ZoningSubdivision review and any variance work. Most existing-lot single-family work skips this.
- Dig Safe (811)Mandatory before any dig. Rural Foster has fewer marked utilities, but the call still matters.
General guidance. Confirm current requirements with RIDEM and the Town of Foster for your specific parcel and scope.
Buying or building in Foster? We’ll walk the lot before you spend on design.