2. Infrastructure
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Lakes Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 2. Infrastructure Infrastructure consists of the facilities and services necessary to support economic resources. Maintaining these services and facilities while planning for future needs, enables communities to direct future growth and development to areas with infrastructure. Community facilities and services protect and promote the health and safety of residents. The region has many locations suitable for expansion of commercial centers, however, services and facilities available vary by town as many are rural and do not have extensive developed infrastructure. Industrial Parks Several towns in the region have established a designated industrial park, listed in Table 2.1. The parks are currently (or have near-term future plans to be) serviced by public sewer and water. Manufacturing, light industry are generally located in these parks, along with some commercial facilities. Map 5 shows the location of each of these parks. Table 2.1: Industrial Parks in the Lakes Region Infrastructure Available* Name Town Water Gas Sewer Rail Highway Freudenburg Northfield U U U U I-93 Ashland Industrial Park Ashland Y N Y Y I-93 Belmont Industrial Park Belmont N N Y N Rt 140/I-93 Gilmanton S&G Industrial Park Gilmanton Y N Y N Rt 106 Nickerson Tilton N Y Y N Rt 132/I-93 Cormier Northfield U U U U I-93 Blouent Steel Northfield U U U U I-93 Pike Industries Northfield U U U U I-93 Franklin Industrial Park Franklin Y Y Y N Rt 3&11 O'Shea Industrial Park Laconia N Y Y N Rt 3 Whitten Industrial Park Gilford N Y Y N Rt 11&11c Laconia Airport Business & Industrial Park Gilford N Y Y N Rt 11&11c Lake Business Park (Phase 2) Laconia proposed N proposed N Rt 3&11/Rt 107 Lake Business Park (Phase 1) Laconia Y N Y N Rt 3&11/Rt 107 Freudenburg-NOK & airstrip Bristol Y N Y N Rt 140 Source: LRPC *Infrastructure Available: Y = available N = not available U = not known Page 10 Lakes Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Page 11 Lakes Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Sewer Supply System There are several wastewater treatment facilities providing service to the regional towns. Table 2.2 lists the facility and population served and Map 3 shows the areas serviced by public sewer. Several towns have plans to expand their sewer service in order to plan for future development. They have also used expansion of the sewer service as a way to protect their ground water resources from contamination. Treatment facilities have operation and maintenance plans to address replacement of combined sewer/stormwater overflows and old, leaking conveyance systems. While waste water treatment has become safer and more efficient, difficult issues remain. Table 2.2: Waste Water Treatment Facilities in the Lakes Region Flow * Solids Facility Town (MGD ** ) Process Disposal Ashland Wastewater Ashland 1.6 AL/DC LA Center Harbor, Center Harbor Wastewater Moultonborough 0.2 PS/SP Bristol Wastewater Bristol 0.5 OD/UV LF Franklin Wastewater - Winnipesaukee River Basin Franklin, Laconia, Belmont, Project Northfield, Tilton, Meredith 11.51 AS/UV LA New Hampton Village Precinct New Hampton 0.08 SP LA Ossipee Wastewater Ossipee 0.11 ST/SD LA Plymouth Village Water & Sewer District Holderness 0.7 RBC/DC CO Sandwich Wastewater Sandwich 0.02 ST/SF/SD Wolfeboro Wastewater Wolfeboro 0.6 EA/SI CO Source: NH DES Wastewater Engineering Bureau *The flow amount shown is what the WWTF is designed to treat – not what is being used. **MGD = Millions of Gallons per Day Wastewater Treatment Process Key Solids Disposal Key AL - Aerated Lagoon RBC - Rotating Biological Contactor LA - Land Application AS - Activated Sludge SD - Subsurface Disposal LF - Landfill DC - Dechlorination SF - Sand Filter CO - Composting EA - Extended Air SI - Spray Irrigation OD - Oxidation Ditch SP - Stabilization Pond OF - Overland Flow ST - Septic Tank PS - Pump Station UV - Ultraviolet Disinfection Page 12 Lakes Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Table 2.3 below provides information regarding the monthly volume of septage in gallons received by the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program (WRBP), which is operated at the Franklin Wastewater Treatment Facility. Table 2.3: Septage Received by WRBP from Communities between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2007 Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 Jun-07 Totals Towns/Cities Alexandria 6,800 5,800 2,100 1,000 5,500 4,100 25,300 Alton 3,000 4,350 500 4,200 7,000 2,500 21,550 Andover 6,600 6,350 5,900 5,050 13,100 5,700 42,700 Ashland 0 0 0 1,850 0 1,000 2,850 Barnstead 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Belmont 8,200 17,300 21,300 18,200 44,400 43,450 152,850 Bridgewater 2,200 1,800 1,000 1,000 7,500 12,700 26,200 Bristol 5,550 9,600 2,800 8,900 34,650 33,950 95,450 Center Harbor 3,400 1,000 1,400 2,400 2,900 11,500 22,600 Danbury 2,100 2,250 4,800 2,000 2,100 2,400 15,650 Effingham 0 0 0 0 0 2,100 2,100 Franklin 5,500 13,800 10,800 20,400 37,950 24,600 113,050 Freedom 0 0 0 1,250 0 0 1,250 Gilford 16,750 11,600 18,500 18,100 52,500 28,100 145,550 Gilmanton 2,300 5,400 4,400 4,500 12,700 15,300 44,600 Hebron 1,000 2,950 0 900 2,600 3,450 10,900 Hill 1,700 2,000 4,000 2,000 5,400 5,100 20,200 Holderness 3,400 1,000 1,100 3,750 13,200 10,100 32,550 Laconia 0 11,600 1,700 2,700 12,550 7,700 36,250 Meredith 8,150 14,400 14,300 16,850 41,050 65,750 160,500 Moultonborough 10,550 10,950 6,850 40,650 75,650 72,900 217,550 New Hampton 4,500 3,750 1,950 12,550 11,100 6,750 40,600 Northfield 4,200 8,250 4,200 8,900 20,150 19,550 65,250 Ossipee 1,000 0 0 0 0 0 1,000 Sanbornton 4,100 9,100 9,300 7,100 30,800 41,900 102,300 Sandwich 0 0 1,300 1,250 500 4,300 7,350 Tamworth 0 6,200 12,200 0 5,300 6,400 30,100 Tilton 5,000 10,150 3,700 10,900 19,000 2,000 50,750 Tuftonboro 0 0 0 0 750 2,200 2,950 Wolfeboro 0 0 0 0 0 1,000 1,000 Source: Winnipesaukee River Basin Program Page 13 Lakes Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy The majority of the region is not covered by central sewer systems, but by individual septic systems. These individual systems can pose a threat to the water quality due to the potential lack of proper maintenance and repair. Another issue of concern is that many septic systems are not upgraded when small summer camps on the shorelines are converted to larger, year-round homes. These older septic systems have often not been well-maintained, do not have the capacity necessary to handle the additional load, and are frequently nearing the life expectancy. These issues can contribute to sewage entering the lakes and rivers, and bacteria entering the ground water. Many locations along the shoreline are currently impaired due to fecal coliform and Escherichia coli bacteria, or chlorophyll A and algal blooms, leading to beach closures and unsafe water quality conditions. Implementing an education and outreach program to homeowners can raise awareness about the maintenance requirements of a septic system, or how to tell when a system is failing. As the population has increased, so has the amount of waste treatment by-products of septic and sludge, from both septic systems and wastewater treatment facilities. Traditional disposal methods are increasingly difficult to use and pose their own unique set of problems and issues. As research is conducted and the population becomes more aware of the issues, more informed decisions can be made to better recycle or dispose of these products. Water Supply System The Lakes Region contributes to 42 percent of the total water area in the state of New Hampshire. In addition to the nearly 12 percent of surface water covering the region, approximately five percent sits over stratified drift aquifers. Stratified drift aquifers are the most productive type of ground water system compared to bedrock aquifers. However, they are also the most vulnerable to contamination. This is of particular importance when determining allowable land use activities over high yield (transmissivity) areas. Due to the characteristics of these high-yield areas, gravel pits are often located on them. Other sources of potential contamination sources include leaking underground storage tanks, failing septic systems, improper disposal of hazardous chemicals, or vehicular accidents. Planning and zoning are tools communities can use to address these potential problems by adopting an aquifer overlay district, wellhead protection district, greater setbacks from surface waters, and limiting contact recreation in surface waters providing drinking water. While there is currently an abundance of clean, potable water for the region, protection of these vital resources should be paramount to communities. The majority of the region gets their water from private ground water wells. A permit is required from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services for any private water system withdrawing greater than 57,600 gallons per day (GPD). Public water supply systems in the region provide town and business centers with water from mainly ground water sources (Map 6).