N.H. approves $7.2M for water infrastructure improvements

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) has approved a combination of grant and loan funds for four drinking water and wastewater system improvement projects.

Totaling more than $7.2 million, the approved funds come through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).

The projects with approved funding are:

• Dover: Water Facility Improvements
  ARPA Grant: $5,188,000
  Total project cost: $17,290,213
  The City of Dover will use the grant funding as administered through the Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Remediation Grant and Loan Fund (PFAS RLF) to assist with the construction of a new treatment facility to remediate PFAS, as well as other contaminants, within groundwater at the Pudding Hill well field. The project includes design, bidding, construction and engineering oversight of the construction.

• Londonderry: Water System Financial Planning
  $50,000 ARPA Grant
  The Town of Londonderry will use this ARPA grant to develop a water system financial plan to assess the feasibility of development of the public water system for the Town with the purpose of expanding public water service to address widespread PFAS contamination of private residential wells. This planning project is strategically important to New Hampshire due to the large number of private residential well users in Londonderry with concentrations of PFAS above the applicable current maximum contaminant level (MCL).

• Process Energy Services LLC: Contract for Wastewater and Drinking Water Energy Audits
  $500,000 ARPA grant
  Process Energy Services, LLC will use the grant funding to conduct comprehensive process level energy audits at publicly owned wastewater and drinking water systems to identify cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy measures within the systems. When possible, the measures identified through the energy audits will be paired with asset management-identified improvements to prioritize projects more holistically.

• Wolfeboro: Drinking Water Infrastructure
  ARPA Grant: $735,000
  DWSRF Loan: $735,000
  Total project cost: $1,480,000
  The Town of Wolfeboro will use grant funding to design and construct the rehabilitation and replacement of Water Treatment Plant (WTP) components that are at the end of their useful life. Grant funds will be used in conjunction with DWSRF loan funds to complete the engineering, design, bidding and construction for the project.