A developer's plans for a housing development in Allenstown have hit a snag.
The town's wastewater plant can't accept any new sources of sewage.
Other communities along the Merrimack River are also finding their facilities are having difficulty keeping up with increased demand.
And these towns are also grappling with more stringent federal and state requirements aimed at keeping New Hampshire waterways cleaner.
New Hampshire Public Radio's David Darman has more.
Developer JH Spain Associates of Concord was the builder recently shut out of the Suncook Treatment Plant in Allenstown.
Attorney Richard Uchida of Concord is a spokesman for Spain.
He says his client needs a sewer hookup to carry out plans to build a tightly packed 80 unit development for people over 55 years old.
if you're on town water and sewer you get a certain density ...meaning number of units in the project. if you're not on town water and sewer, then the project can't be developed as densely as it might.
There's no quick fix to increase flow at the Suncook plant.
Dana Clement points this out as we start our tour around the facility.
SOUND UP: water whoosh
Clement is the plant's superintendent.
He says we can't see the reason the plant can't take any more wastewater....but its there, beneath our feet.
now a siphon...works by a differential in the head. so, as the fill side of the siphon fills up, it pushes water out the other end. the problem with that is, it goes right underneath this building...so to replace that, you'd basically have to probably take this whole section of the building apart.. to do that.
Engineers have told Clement it would be cheaper to build a new plant rather than try and renovate the old one.
The price tag for a new wastewater plant is estimated to be around 9 million dollars.
About 20 percent of that price would be picked up by the state.
But the rest of the bill would have to be shouldered by taxpayers in Allenstown....and Pembroke.
That's because Pembroke sends its sewage to the Suncook plant.
Pembroke and Allenstown aren't the only places along the Merrimack that are dealing with increased sewage flow.
Hooksett is also facing the problem.
The town had a plan to double its capacity for handling wastewater flow.
Bruce Kudrik is the plant's superintendent.
He says those plans ran into a problem when state environmental officials reviewed them.
that design that we had, which is just a conventional design ...is not allowed anymore. not as far as the merrimack river. it won't be allowed by new hampshire. so the board had to start looking at alternatives.
Hooksett found itself in this position after New Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services put a moratorium on allowable pollution levels for the Merrimack.
George Belandri is with DES's Wastewater Engineering Bureau.
He says testing has shown the river can't stand any more contamination.
historically, you could issue somebody like allenstown with a dilution factor of over three hundred, you could issue them additional flow and say, ok and feel pretty confident that you weren't going to violate any ...violate water quality. now what we're seeing is little bits and pieces that say these rivers and streams they're getting taxed more than they thought. so we have to be cautious about any increases in flow or associated loading that we allow.
After its initial plans were quashed, Hooksett officials decided to consider a technological upgrade to its existing plant.
It would allow greater flow, and get wastewater much cleaner.
The upgrade is under review by DES officials.
It would cost about 3.5 million dollars.
Other wastewater plants in the state are under the same constraints as Hooksett and Allenstown.
George Belandri of DES says his department is looking beyond the Merrimack, to such waterways as the Ashuelot, Sugar and Contoocook Rivers.
He says testing is being done now to establish limits for the Contoocook.
we looked at jaffrey, peterborough, antrim, we're up in that area. that's where the initial study is. but ultimately you're right but ultimately it should go down to hillsborough, hopkinton and henniker.
Most of the wastewater plants in New Hampshire were constructed in the 1970's, when Congress practically paid the whole bill for them.
The funding was a direct result of the Clean Water Act.
Thirty years later, communities that want to switch from largely using septic systems to utilizing a wastewater plant can't count on Congress to pick up the tab.
Despite this, Bow officials have laid out plans to install sewer lines in its Route 3A corridor, near I-93.
Town voters have already approved a 12.5 million dollar bond, some of which would pay for connection to Concord's Hall Street Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Bill Klubben is Bow's Community Development Director.
He says town officials think sewer lines will help attract bigger businesses to the area.
well, currently what we have is a smattering of small, very small and small businesses. we have a couple of large operations out there. but we feel that if we can get more on an acre we can attract , maybe more manufacturing, maybe some back office, maybe some research and development. you know, whatever the market is producing.
New Hampshire planners say what's happening in Bow, Hooksett and Allenstown is bound to be played out again and again across the southern part of the state.
David Preece is the executive director of the Southern Planning Commission.
He says the dwindling availability of land is causing many developers to want to build housing units closer together.
but in order to do that we need to have the infrastructure in place, and that is water and sewer. and its a very costly....matter to do, but its one that's greatly needed in order to provide the service to future employers, as well as to have the higher densities that make sense for construction of affordable housing.
Wastewater treatment costs are likely to come up at town meetings in Hooksett, Allenstown, and Pembroke next Spring.
That's the point where voters could get a chance to chime in on the costs and benefits of expanded sewage treatment.
