Atkinson, Newton want more control over water withdrawals State says withdrawal rules are adequate

From the Eagle-Tribune;

Atkinson, Newton want more control over water withdrawals State says withdrawal rules are adequate
By Jarret Bencks
jbencks@eagletribune.com

State and local officials are trying to figure out what they can — and should — do to control and monitor groundwater withdrawals.

Town officials in Atkinson warned voters that recently adopted water ordinances could bring the town into a long and costly litigation process. The Newton Planning Board recently adopted new rules requiring large water withdrawals applications be reviewed by the board before submission to the state.

Legislators are reviewing state laws that restrict towns from regulating water withdrawals, trying to determine what kind of control towns have over their water supply.

State law allows towns to enact local ordinances or regulations affecting groundwater, but they cannot regulate large groundwater withdrawals, according to Associate Attorney General Richard Head. Large groundwater withdrawals are classified as more than 57,600 gallons a day.

Members of the New Hampshire House's commission to study issues relative to groundwater withdrawals met last week to discuss what kind of control towns have over groundwater withdrawals that are not classified as "large," according to Head.

Members of the commission did not come to a conclusion, but may end up writing legislation to address it in the future. Rep. Mary Allen, who wrote the rules for the Newton Planning Board, said she thinks groundwater should be in town control.

"When a development or an individual wants to expand, then I think they should come before the town and get permission from the municipality prior to going to the state," she said.

Allen has not attended the commission's meetings, but said she was considering going to future meetings.

The state has not taken any legal action against either town, but officials from both Atkinson and Newton are ready if it does. Local officials have expressed their willingness to fight for their towns' rules and ordinances.

Before the special Town Meeting last month, selectmen in Atkinson told voters the new rules could bring the town into long and costly litigation, but they would support the ordinances if they were approved.

Newton Planning Board member Jim Doggett said he thought the new rules were within the town's rights, but should they come into legal contention, the town would be ready to fight for them.

"If you read our set of rules, they're very simple in language," Doggett said. "They are in our regulations, and I think the Planning Board is willing to defend them."

Newton's rules state "the quantity of water to be drawn must be approved by the Planning Board and listed on the recorded plan sheets." Atkinson's ordinance says "no corporation or syndicate shall engage in water withdrawals in the Town of Atkinson."

Carol Grant, an Atkinson resident and member of the committee that wrote the new ordinances, said the rules are necessary to protect the town water supply because the state Department of Environmental Services doesn't work in residents' best interest.

"When towns have public hearings and residents show up to express their disapproval, (DES officials) don't give a damn," she said. "They go right ahead and ignore the wishes of the people and give the water company whatever they want."

Brandon Kernen, of the DES groundwater withdrawal bureau, said water companies are tightly regulated and the state already prevents groundwater withdrawals from drying out water supplies.

"It just isn't allowed under the law," Kernen said. "We've been very successful in protecting private water supplies with permits we've issued."

In the past, large water withdrawals in Stratham resulted in some private wells needing to be redrilled because they were too shallow, and the state paid for those wells to be redrilled, Kernen said.

"There have been issues, and we've dealt with them successfully," he said.

But many local residents are still concerned about their water supplies. The new ordinances in Atkinson were approved overwhelmingly, and Newton residents filled a local gym during a hearing in June on a water franchise request from Hampstead Area Water Company.

Some Newton residents have said they are already experiencing water pressure problems. Patty Stephan said she needed to have a new well drilled at her home on Kenwood Drive within the last year because the water pressure was too low to use the shower.

"There already are water problems," she said, "and it's only going to get worse with more development."

For both towns, the main worry is that water will be trucked or piped to be used elsewhere. The Hampstead Area Water Company applied for a $1.1 million loan in June to connect Atkinson's water system with the company's Hampstead system, If awarded, 15,000 feet of pipe would be laid between the two towns along Route 121 next summer.

Kernen said sometimes interconnecting water supplies is necessary, but DES regulation would prevent any water withdrawal projects from leaving a town dry.

"Any new well is subject to large withdrawal permitting," Kernen said. "When you displace that much, you have to show there is sufficient water for existing wells and environmental resources."

While towns are concerned with large water withdrawals, Kernen said a series of private wells can have a much worse affect on a town's water supply than a large water withdrawal. The state surveys large water withdrawal areas and regulates them, while private wells can be built without going through the process.