Water


It was key to the settlement and economy of the region. Now it provides drinking water, recreation and wildlife habitat to New Hampshire. Jon Greenberg takes a trip down the Merrimack, uncovering its history and the people who rely on it.	Most of us take drinking water for granted in the Granite State, but maintaining a supply of fresh drinking water is much more complicated than turning on a tap. The Exchange explores where New Hampshire's drinking water comes from, what makes it unique, how we get it and the biggest issues we face today.
Stories 7/22: Winning the Right to Pollute: 19th century legal battles over the Merrimack River helped define the modern corporation. 7/23: Building on the Success of the Clean Water Act: What the CWA did to make the river cleaner and what some people are doing to make it cleaner still. 7/24: Facing the Future of the Merrimack: We're entering a new era where the river will have greater impact on the patterns of growth. River Minutes 7/21: A Brief History of Fishladders: Most people think fish ladders are a relatively modern invention. They aren't. 7/22: Thoreau and the Merrimack - Who Will Speak for the Fishes: Thoreau's "A Week on the Concord and the Merrimack" described the problems of the dams that powered the mills. 7/23: Controlling Runoff - Saving Cash: When it comes to protecting the river from runoff, the right thing to do might also be the cheapest. 7/24: When The Merrimack Changed Its Course:How two ice ages got the river to meander east. 7/25: Using the River Bed as a Natural Filter: An old idea finds a new use to provide clean drinking water from the Merrimack. On the web: Interactive map of the Merrimack	7/22: Where New Hampshire's Water Comes From and How We Get It Slideshow: Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest 7/23: The Quantity of Our Water in New Hampshire Slideshow: Concord City Waterworks 7/24: The Quality of Our Water in New Hampshire Slideshow: Touring a Water Testing Lab 7/25: The Future of New Hampshire's Water Slideshow: Dean Kamen and the Slingshot


Every time we construct a new building or lay down a parking lot we change the natural flow of storm water. Word of Mouth talks with a scientist at the University of New Hampshire who looks at ways to reduce that impact.
7/24: Managing Storm Water

Merrimack River photo courtesy Ben McLeod | Storm water photo courtesy desertwaterrock)