Treated Sewage to Flow into Lake Winnipesaukee? [Archive]

View Full Version : Treated Sewage to Flow into Lake Winnipesaukee?

mcdude

11-14-2007, 08:21 AM

excerpts from CITIZEN ARTICLE (http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/GJNEWS02/711140010/-1/CITIZEN)

Members of the Tuftonboro Conservation Commission are scheduled to appear before a state environmental panel today to challenge Wolfeboro's plan to dump treated wastewater at a new site that sits directly next to a brook that flows into Lake Winnipesaukee.

A group of Tuftonboro residents is raising environmental and health concerns about a Wolfeboro's plan to pump upward of 600,000 gallons of disinfected wastewater into "rapid infiltration basins" located near the town line.

Tuftonboro Conservation Commission Chair Mikel Phelps and others believe the multimillion-dollar project could lead to harmful chemicals percolating into 19 Mile Brook, not only threatening wildlife, but potentially those swimming at a town beach on Lake Winnipesaukee near the brook's outlet.

The Tuftonboro Conservation Commission head said nearby Mirror Lake has experienced greenish-blue blooms believed to be linked to cyno-bacteria — an organism whose numbers are linked to the type of nutrients sometimes found in wastewater.

As the Mirror Lake Protection Association undertakes its own study to investigate the root of the problem, Phelps and others are expressing concern about a solution that has Wolfeboro looking to build a pipeline that would bring up to 600,000 gallons of the wastewater to a new 35-acre site he said is only approximately 1,000 feet from 19 Mile Brook, which leads to 19 Mile Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee in Tuftonboro.

wifi

11-14-2007, 08:32 AM

hockeypuck

11-14-2007, 11:37 AM

I know enough not to eat the yellow snow. Now beware of skiing on brown snow!!!! I don't think this sounds like a very good idea. What happens if this spring is very wet and they are pumping out effluent by irrigation plus you have soggy soil already saturated with nitrates, phosphates and whatever else from the brown snow melt. Bacteria counts and algae blooms could be the result. Milfoil may be only a minor problem compared to bacteria counts. I hope the science is good on this one.

LIforrelaxin

11-14-2007, 12:32 PM

Take a look at this page:

http://www.biosolids.org/news_weekly.asp?id=1911

(nice article id... eh? :laugh: )

Scroll down to:
"Wolfeboro, NH Turns Treated Wastewater into Snow"

Glad I don't live down wind of this debacle.

Way too much growth in the Lakes Region. Infrastructure should be in place FIRST (IMHO), growth second.

Interesting article..... Not exactly what I would like to see done, but hey they are in a tight spot...... Now if you read the whole article you also find out that the town had a parcel of land they wanted to by to expanded the currnet system... However the Voters rejected the bond to facilitate the project.

In short the people of Wolfeboro have a problem and the don't want to deal with it, or not at least not to the tun of a 2.5 million dollar bond. Having a Sewer system and waste water treatment facility is not cheap for a town.

It would be nice if the Infrastructure where in place First. But that cost money.... And predicting growth is not an exact science. I am sure when the built the exsisting treatment facility is was built with extra capacity in mind..... the error was not in pre-planning, but rather in monitoring, the town should have seen reserve capacity dwindling and started working towards a solution years back..... but typical government.... why worry about something until it is broke and will cost twice as much to fix.

Know as for the proposal for leaching buy 19 mile.... well lets just hope all the enviormental studies have been done.... However what I have longed feared my eventually happen. The lake has become such a tourist destination, and the growth is out of control, that the lake will be ruined by stupidity.....

mcdude

11-14-2007, 05:35 PM

..... Now if you read the whole article you also find out that the town had a parcel of land they wanted to by to expanded the currnet system... However the Voters rejected the bond to facilitate the project.....

As I understand it, the land that "they" wanted to buy was actually land that the town was going to take by eminent domain and pay the owner a price that was far lower than market value. Some would say that the rejection of the bond was a statement by the voters against robbing the landowner of his property.

tis

11-14-2007, 07:26 PM

You are right, mcdude. It was not about the 2.5 million, although it would have ended up being a lot more than that in all likelihood. In many people's opinion, it was also a very bad idea, expanding an area spraying water and ice in the air! Can you imagine what happens to a mountain of ice sewer on a suddenly warm spring day?
This second proposal was voted in by the voters knowing that it will cost a lot more money, but is a much better way of disposing of the affluent. It will be treated at the plant, run through a pipeline almost to the Tuftonboro line on 109, where they found a "sandpit" which according to the state is one of the best areas they have ever seen for rapid infiltration. I think Tuftonboro wants to be sure that any runoff will not harm the brook and eventually Mirror, then possibly Winni. As they should. The thing is, the current system (spray water and melting ice from a snow mountain) is running into Mirror Lake.

LIforrelaxin

11-14-2007, 11:21 PM

You are right, mcdude. It was not about the 2.5 million, although it would have ended up being a lot more than that in all likelihood. In many people's opinion, it was also a very bad idea, expanding an area spraying water and ice in the air! Can you imagine what happens to a mountain of ice sewer on a suddenly warm spring day?
.

Tis,

I am guessing you are a resident of Wolfeboro... So my question become this, was the idea behind buying the additional land simply to give the town more area to "spray" the Efflunent snow.... The way I interpret the article the idea behind the land purchase was to give the town the additional area to expand the capacity of the facility incorporating proper leaching, much like they are planing to do buy pumping Effluent to the proposed field near the Tuftonboro Town line....

Just curious because the more that is known the easier it is to judge the situation..... obviously if they were just going to use the land to "spray Effluent snow" I don't blame the town for turning the proposal down. But if the idea was proper expansion then I guess I will be a little less understanding..... All in all though if the town was to take the property by eminant domain then fair market price should have been offered to the
owner(s).....

ApS

11-15-2007, 04:28 AM

"...was the idea behind buying the additional land simply to give the town more area to "spray" the afflunent snow...?"
That was the idea, but Wolfeboro copied "effluent-spraying" from a town in Maine that got a generous supply of cold weather!

"Warm weather" caused Wolfeboro to exceed its holding pond's capacity. Overflow has been leaking through wetlands into Wolfeboro's Back Bay for years, producing a generous crop of exotic milfoil. (Milfoil that also "needs treatment"). Others have advised that the pond has an excessively large load of rain- and ground-water pumped from residents' cellars into the sewer system. :(

Wolfeboro's other plans call for pumping Lake Winnipesaukee water and "treating" it for a Town water supply. Its former water supply is a remote natural pond which has been drawn down so far, that it can't be further "treated" without posing a health risk! Wolfeboro water customers received a letter last year that essentially said, "Don't Drink Town Water Due to the Carcinogens the Town Added." :eek:

I see an endless cycle of "treatments".

The only good part is that the eventual "treated" discharge is to one part of the lake—and the intake at another site, some six lake miles distant. ("As the fish swims".) :look:

"...The way I interpret the article the idea behind the land purchase was to give the town the additional area to expand the capacity of the facility incorporating proper leaching, much like they are planing to do buy pumping affluent to the proposed field near the Tuftonboro Town line...."
There were at least three proposals: one was to "take" the land for additional spraying—rejected by the voters.

The "new" approach is to force-inject treated effluent into the ground next to the Tuftonboro line. (Which is geographically close to where the "effluent spraying" sorta took place.)

The "oldest" idea—offered with incentives by the state—was rejected out-of-hand by the Board of Selectman saying, "Townsfolk would never approve of an underwater pipeline to Franklin [for treatment]".

(I don't remember being asked. :rolleye1: )

Backpackers and rafters to the Colorado River are told to toss their "effluent" into the Colorado River, saying "The Solution to Pollution is Dilution" (http://environmental-litigation.legalview.com/wikipedia/Pollution/).

'All well and good in a strong river having rapids that treat "effluent" with naturally-occurring aerobic bacteria. (And thence carried to the ocean).

New Hampshire is New England's fastest growing-state, and Wolfeboro is in the middle of the state's fastest growth. The solution for Winnipesaukee Basin effluent isn't lots of small ideas.

IMHO.

[/rant]

Mink Islander

11-15-2007, 06:23 AM

Per Wikipedia: Effluent in the man-made sense is generally considered to be pollution, such as the outflow from a sewage treatment facility or the wastewater discharge from industrial facilities. An effluent sump pump, for instance, pumps waste from toilets installed below a main sewage line.

But Affluent means: af·flu·ent adj. Generously supplied with money, property, or possessions; prosperous or rich. See synonyms at rich.
Plentiful; abundant. Flowing freely; copious.

So I suppose you could have affluent effluent, and even effluent affluence.....

I think affluent snow is found in Aspen, Co. :)

brk-lnt

11-15-2007, 06:39 AM

fatlazyless

11-15-2007, 06:50 AM

The Waterville Valley ski area has been using treated waste water from the very nearby WV waste water treatment facility for years and years. In Winter, it goes into the man-made snow. Other times, it goes into the Mad River, and the Mad is a good fly-fishing river for little brook trout. Have been told that it is all regulated by federal standards

And the man-made snow all looks like the same powdered ice type....good schussing stuff.....cannot tell which ski snow is from recycled effluent or from the pond. It's all treated with chlorine, or something, and aerated.

You can tell by the smell you are in Plymouth NH. Positioned close to the Pemigewasset and below South Main St is where Plymouth has their smelly little treatment facility.

Some towns have better locations for treatment than others. Ashland took about 20 acres of pasture on the Pemigewasset River to build its' treatment facility. Two years ago, they agreed to leasing a small space for a cell phone tower.

Hey, maybe if Wolfeboro finds their local town spot by eminent domain, it could get double use as a cell phone tower lease-out location and make the town maybe $1400./month and help with the bad reception.
If Romney wins, all the cell-bars and affluent-effluent will be getting overloaded, fo-sure!

Tomorrow, Saturday Nov 17, is opening day at the WV ski area, high country-$25., so you all can take a close-up look at the white stuff- snow-effluent-affluent-mix and its' ability to stand up to 48 degrees and 2' of rain........hmmmm....well...maybe not?

tis

11-15-2007, 08:13 AM

Sorry, Mink, I do know better. I type so fast that I sometimes do things like that. And a change like that can change the interpretaion of the post by others.

Yes, LIF, it was expansion of the existing fields. It was approximately 100 acres, much of which would not be usable for such an intense use of the area. The state toured it a couple of days before the vote and the selectmen had an informal report so knew then, but wanted to go ahead and try for the vote anyway. And the town's appraisal was $247,000 for the land and the owner's appraisal was $2mil. Quite a difference. So the owner would have appealed to the state land appeals board and certainly would have gotten more than the 247. How much, who knows. But it was certainly an unknown. ANd I think most townspeople knew that.

The selectmen hired an engineering firm, Woodard and Curan to come up with the new plan. Problem was, W&C were actually the company running the current system. Talk about the hen and the henhouse. So anyway, that was the proposal given to the selectmen and they took it- seemed easiest and quickest solution, but not the best.

So the second time they hired an impartial engineering firm who actually came up with more than one idea. They feel that the rapid infiltration is the cleanest and best. Problem is, noone wants sewer. I think what they are doing now, is a lot cleaner. At least the water sits in the ground for filtering. As Acres said, the current system, is just running off into Hershey Brook and into Mirror Lake and into Back BAy in Wolfeboro. I feel much better about having it underground for a period of time. To me, it is lot like our private systems. The effluent sits in our leach beds but eventually of course leaches out.

Wolfeboro doesn't have a brook, if a town has a running brook you are allowed to dump into that. Acres Per mentioned Franklin, but the state says there are days when Frankin is too full too. At first the selectmen said Franklin would be too expensive- around $20,000 according to them- but it seems by the time this is done, it will be around that.

FLL mentioned WV. That is a lot further north than Wolfeboro for the snow concept as was the area in Maine that the two women selectmen inspected and then returned and tried to bulldog it to the town.

mcdude

11-15-2007, 08:59 AM

... but is a much better way of disposing of the affluent....

:laugh: :D :) But tis, you raise such an interesting question!! Should the affluent be treated or disposed of??????

WINDinmySOCKIES

11-15-2007, 09:15 AM

I can see a few years from now, after a big mess that old saying "IT seemed like a good idea at the time" AHHH Progress ! I thought they didn't do STUPID things like this in NH, a state so proud of its green status. I hate to talk about weird forshadowing, but that Amex commerical with Ellen might come true...bathing suits bursting into flames.......ummmmmmmmm:eek:

mcdude

11-15-2007, 12:32 PM

Panel Strikes Down Sewer Plan Appeal
<SCRIPT>document.title = unescape("Panel%20strikes%20down%20sewer%20plan%20appeal") + " - Fosters";</SCRIPT>
<TABLE><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD>By GEOFF CUNNINGHAM Jr.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Thursday, November 15, 2007
Efforts by the Tuftonboro Conservation Commission to slow down a Wolfeboro plan dump wastewater on a new site near the town line, suffered a setback on Wednesday when a state panel denied an appeal that sought further study on how the project would impact wildlife and possible those swimming in Lake Winnipesaukee.

According the Mike Phelps, the chair of the Tuftonboro Conservation Commission, the Department of Environmental Services' Water Council rejected an appeal that was made based on Wolfeboro's attempts to seek funding for the project from a state revolving fund.

See COMPLETE CITIZEN ARTICLE (http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/GJNEWS02/711150065/-1/CITIZEN)here.

rickstr66

11-15-2007, 03:25 PM

[QUOTE=Acres per Second]

"Warm weather" caused Wolfeboro to exceed its holding pond's capacity. Overflow has been leaking through wetlands into Wolfeboro's Back Bay for years, producing a generous crop of exotic milfoil. (Milfoil that also "needs treatment").

APS: FYI, Overflow doesn't cause exotic milfoil. Exotic milfoil causes exotic milfoil;)

tis

11-15-2007, 05:53 PM

mcdude. The effluent will still be treated at the treatment plant, then piped to the new location.
I really think the Affluent should be treated not disposed of, LOL! We need to keep the Affluent around to pay the bills!

LIforrelaxin

11-16-2007, 12:24 AM

Mee-n-Mac

11-16-2007, 04:03 PM

I agree tis.... you weren't the only on that bobbled on the spelling.....

I tell ya, it's gone to far. First NH has Mass casuality drills on the Mount and now NH is disposing of the affluent. Is this going to apply only the affluent from Mass or will any rich person be "disposed" ? What's the cutoff point for determing who's "rich" ?

And "treating" the affluent doesn't sound much better ! Somehow I suspect it's more like trick than treat. Will the almost affluent have to attend re-education camps ?

I tell ya ... it's gone too far !

mcdude

11-16-2007, 05:42 PM

.... Mass casuality ....

(one can only guess, but I'm thinking....

ahem...)

Mass Casuality
1.- (noun) when everyone becomes casual at the same time
2.- (noun) a certain kind of relaxed lifestyle especially enjoyed by those from Massachusetts.

:confused: ????
:laugh:

tis

11-16-2007, 09:34 PM

Mee. We need to keep ALL the affluent even the Masses who didn't get casualitzed. It doesn't matter where they come from. How could we feed the monster's hunger without their tax money? They call the people who live on the lake in Wolfeboro, the "cash cows".

Mee-n-Mac

11-16-2007, 10:24 PM

tis

11-17-2007, 07:20 AM

Yep, exactly.

ApS

11-21-2007, 06:59 AM

Nobody's mentioned the moratorium on developers not being allowed to hook up to the Wolfeboro sewer system. :(

Here's what can happen:

Three weeks ago, I bought an oceanfront single family residence. Though distant from Lake Winnipesaukee, here too is a building moratorium—but with some major differences. When purchasing, I was fully aware of the primary problem surrounding these few thousand homes: it is the sewage that leaches out to taint wells, canals, the air, but especially, the ocean.

"...In short the people of Wolfeboro have a problem and the don't want to deal with it, or not at least not to the tune of a 2.5 million dollar bond. Having a Sewer system and waste water treatment facility is not cheap for a town..."
It's not just Wolfeboro:

1) Where I am located now, local and Federal governments are mandating "3-to-1 mitigation": if you want to develop 10 acres, you must buy 30 undeveloped acres nearby. That land becomes a conservation area. In my immediate area, it's a "2-to-1 mitigation". (Both short-circuit the sprawl that has produced the effluent). Other mitigation efforts can include conversion of one's home to solar energy.

2) Moreover, within 130 miles of here, if you buy a "tear-down", it must be replaced by a flood-compliant structure. Most new residences must be replaced by two-story residences.

It also must NOT be designed to house more dwellers than the original residence!

3) Presently—and as usual—local and Federal agencies can't agree on a remedy for the sewage problem. :rolleye1: What they have agreed upon, is that in three years residents must be prepared to connect to a pipeline to a sewage treatment plant located 30 miles away; alternatively, all homeowners must install one's own aerobic sewage treatment device. :eek: (Receives pumped-in air bubbles).

Due to elevation, that would mean an above-ground aerobic tank for my place. These produce noise 24/7 and are supremely ugly and large devices. A neighbor in sight—upwind—has one already that reaches upwards to his two-story roofline.

Even where they are permitted underground, what remains above ground is large, noisy, and a major odor-producer. Some of the newest designs are included within the footprint of the new home itself. :confused:

I'm not on a freshwater lake here: this is where a raging tidal surge "flushes" the surrounding shorelines twice a day!

Clearly, as LIforrelxin has implied, this Lakes Region problem needs to be addressed sooner than later.

IMHO.