Please accept this as a new article -
DES requires HAWC to provide more information and revise testing plans
The Eagle Tribune reported today that the NH DES, in a letter to HAWC's consultant, needs to provide more information regarding their large groundwater withdrawal request and to revise their testing methods. The article and the actual DES letter are available for viewing at the water site, www.just-goaway.com
The letter is a little tough to read but two points stand out. 1) Discharge from the pump tests must be done downstream from the monitoring stations. Think about it. 2) For Midpoint, Emery & Garrett, the consultant, must provide documentation that HAWC actually has the right to withdraw water from the site.
This second point raises a lot of questions and could have a dramatic effect on HAWC's plans.
Finally, the location for the Special Meeting will be at the Performing Arts Center at Timberlane High School.
Atkinson Town Hall
The Norman Rockwellian picture of Atkinson
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16 comments:
In my opinion I'm all set with any test results that the HAWC can provide. I do not trust any board or testing that is done by Lewis Water World, no way, no how. Just do a google search about water aqufier's and read for yourself. You will read that alot of them take many years of rain to recharge them. Some of the water from an aquifer can be hundreds of years old. The HAWC is attempting to gain control of water for the future, to only sell it back to you if your well goes dry. As more people live here and everywhere else, water will be more harder to come by. Just look at some of the southern states from last year, towns were in the grips of drought and were fighting over waterrights to the only freshwater available to them. Do not be fooled by the HAWC, and protect your water supply. There are no positive outcomes if they win this water war.
HAWC is asking for capacity to support 316,800 gallons per day from Settlers Ridge, 216,000 gallons per day from Midpoint, and 115,200 gallons per day from Fieldstone. That is a total of 648,000 gallons per day. This does not include the wells already in service. And these are deep wells, roughly 400 ft down.
Remember, water flows downhill and the original report to HAWC showed recovery problems at that depth. As all this water is being sucked from the ground whose well will go dry first if the aquifer cannot recharge fast enough, yours or HAWC's?
If you're on a well and you're not worried about this, you better damn well should be.
And don't forget; there are already TWO GOLF COURSES in town sucking water out of our aquifers:
1.The Atkinson Country Club (Sapiaworld)
2.The Par 3 Golf Club on Rte.111
Once Hampstead Water/Lewis Builders start sucking almost 700,000 gallons out of the ground, they're likely going to dry up your well and force you to by your water back from them; once they own the rights to pump water, they will own the water rights in Atkinson forever. Nashua had to spend many millions of dollars to buy its water rights back, forcing it to cut school and other town funding.
Let the Lewis Empire know how you feel about this; they own East Coast Lumber, so STOP SPENDING MONEY AT LEWIS BUSINESSES! In a capitalist country, you have to use your wallet to send a message. Boycott Lewis connected businesses!
Allready done! Point taken! Anyone who says this issue is no big deal, It is a big deal.
HAWC is asking for permits to draw new water to service shortages for current customers and to support future growth.
Current customers cannot water their lawns. A real sacrifice. What this whole thing is about is the future growth part. This means Atkinson Heights, the 55-over condominium complex Lewis Builders wants to construct at the Atkinson Country Club. Seems they are having a little trouble with the permit process, like providing adequate water.
Early in the permit process Lewis Builders requested a waiver for its residents to not pay the school tax portion of their property tax. Theory being, since would not have kids in the schools, why pay the tax? What a deal. What if this same logic could be applied to all Timberlane residents who did not have children in school. Can you just imagine what the tax bills for those with kids would be? What an absolutely outrageous request and certainly not in Atkinson's best interest.
This topic was discussed in the old blog and it was stated Lewis did not get this wavier. I'm hearing different, that the wavier is still in place.
I'm outraged that such a request would even be made. What needs to be cleared up is the second part, is the wavier still in place?
I can't beleive that there would be a tax waiver for the over 55 community. That is not fair for anyone paying taxes anywhere in NH. Great idea though, and when they build all of the condo's, they will need massive amounts of water. selling Tax free condo's + selling Atkinson residents water = One boatload of profit.
Anonymous at 12:19 PM wrote:
"Early in the permit process Lewis Builders requested a waiver for its residents to not pay the school tax portion of their property tax."
As one of the planning board members who voted on Lewis Builders waiver request I have to comment on this.
Lewis builders applied for a waiver from school IMPACT FEES for the development, not property taxes. Impact fees are a one time assessment which occurs at the time of initial occupancy. Property taxes, as we all know, are a recurring annual PITW (pain in the wallet).
No developer and no development gets a pass on the school portion of property taxes.
WRT impact fees, the state law is crystal clear. Any impact fees must be based on improvements for the benefit of the development. Since the over 55 community will place no kids in the schools, we had no basis for charging them a school impact fee.
A condition of the waiver was that they had to put in place deed restrictions requiring over 55 occupancy.
Its the typical norm around here. If something comes up for a vote and it fails, they try and try again until it passes. Same thing happened with the kindergarten; many thought it was going to be free, nothing is. Wait until we see the school taxes next year.
WIll there ever be a bill to remove it. No.
The folks that own the water company are the same that have been doing some real down and dirty politics in this town. I am just waiting for them to start spreading the raw sewerage onto their fields this fall. I wonder how many calls it will take to Concord to have them stop doing it.
And if your well does go dry, it will take an act of God to prove that it was their doing that caused the problem. In other words, you are going to be stuck with a home that has no water. Moreover, were I am located I highly doubt that they will put the effort to run water lines to my house because of the dry well. It will require digging up a number of roads as well as other excavation work that is quite costly. A new well will be expensive too and is will be one of the reasons why they will fight any claims for drying up a home owners water source.
Fight now while you have a chance.
RE: July 20, 2008 9:52 PM
Fair enough. Thanks for the clarification. I apologize for any misunderstanding I had.
However, whatever wavier they get regarding taxes, and I would include impact fees in this, is unfair unless it applies to all. I'm over 55. If I were to build a house in Atkinson, what kind of break would I get? You know the answer.
Schools are the major portion of our tax bills. For anyone to get a break just increases the burden on the rest of us. Legal, probably. Fair, not in my book. Atkinson Heights is a for profit enterprise being built by one of the wealthiest builders in the state. They are asking for tax waivers and a massive amount of water. All of this is coming at others expense. Hardly fair or right, don't you think?
I heard it put to me once this way. Our parents paid school taxes to educate their kids. We pay school taxes to educate out kids. Their is no age cutoff.
"I am just waiting for them to start spreading the raw sewerage onto their fields this fall."
This is why we don't buy locally grown produce.
On the sewage comment, I agree; say no to local produce. Who know how many pathogens and other cancer and disease related materials are in there. May I ask when did we become a third world community?
If they are willing to jeopardize the health of those in the vicinity of the fields (and possibly the aquifer that supplies all of our water) that they spread this sludge onto, what makes anyone think they care about our ground water resources?
When your well goes dry, good luck.
Here is the link to the video for ones that have not seen it. Copy and paste the link in your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/v/xDixW6HOWEg&hl=en"
This video is from a town who's wells went dry, and this could become your well in my opinion, if lewis water world pumps all of the water from the ground.
In my search I found this handy site that provides links to environmental info or site specific info:
http://www.des.state.nh.us/OneStop.htm
Get a load of this DES site:
http://www2.des.state.nh.us/OneStop/DES_Master_Results.aspx?Town=ATKINSON&Name=&StreetNumber=&StreetName=&MasterId=&County=%&ProgramInterest='%'
See what's not good all around town.
Just so everyone knows, if you do happen to travel down Salem Road, the corn you see growing there is where the untreated poop was dropped last fall.
To anonymous 7:26 am, I have seen what has taken place from the sludge dumping to the planting. I have told my son as we drive by, "See that, it's not only corn, its poop corn".
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