More than $18.5 million awarded for drinking water, wastewater and other projects

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) announced in a recent Governor and Council meeting that Governor Chris Sununu and the Executive Council have approved multiple projects, in a combination of grant and loan funds, for needed drinking water and wastewater system improvements, as well as some other related projects totaling more than $18.5 million. NHDES provided the funding through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan programs. NHDES has offered over $120 million in funding for more than 250 projects, which are in the process of finalizing their proposals to NHDES for submission to the Governor and Executive Council for approval. More information about the projects that have been approved is below: 

Clean Water Infrastructure, Planning and Wastewater System Improvements
The Wastewater System Improvement grant funding will be used to update various wastewater system elements in wastewater treatment facilities. The Clean Water Planning grant funding will be used to develop plans with the goal of identifying water system needs with testing and its associated costs. The Clean Water Infrastructure grant funding will be used to make improvements to clean water infrastructure, including sewers, pipelines and pump stations. Towns receiving these grants include:

• Town of Henniker, Wastewater System Improvement: $960,000 ARPA Grant; $2,140,000 CWSRF Loan
• Town of Seabrook, Wastewater System Improvement: $528,800 ARPA Grant; $2,115,200 CWSRF Loan
• Town of Hampton, Clean Water Planning: $100,000 ARPA Grant
• City of Laconia, Clean Water Planning: $100,000 ARPA Grant
• City of Laconia, Clean Water Infrastructure: $747,600 ARPA Grant; $2,160,827 CWSRF Loan
• Winnipesaukee River Basin Program, Franklin, Clean Water Infrastructure: $459,000 ARPA Grant; $1,071,000 CWSRF Loan
• Mascoma Valley Cooperative, Inc., Canaan: Clean Water Infrastructure and Wastewater Improvements - $1,970,000 ARPA Grant

Drinking Water Infrastructure
The grant funding will be used to repair and upgrade drinking water infrastructure to ensure clean water and prevent contaminants, such as lead and arsenic, from entering the water. Recipients of Drinking Water Infrastructure Grants include:

• City of Claremont: $1,036,000 ARPA Grant; $1,554,000 DWSRF Loan
• Autumn Woods, Derry: $52,000 ARPA Grant

PFAS Remediation
The grant funding will be used to make infrastructure water improvements to public water systems, to remediate the presence of PFAS. Recipients of PFAS Remediation Grants include:

• Town of Bedford: $1,500,000 ARPA Grant
• Aquarion Water Company, Hampton: $1,341,259 ARPA Grant; $428,250 DWGTF Grant

Asset Management
The city or town will use the grant funding to develop an Asset Management Program to be used as a complete community specific decision-making tool for the town’s wastewater collection system, wastewater pump stations and wastewater treatment facility, or stormwater system.

• Town of Swanzey: Wastewater Asset Management - $30,000 ARPA Grant
• Town of Plymouth: Stormwater Asset Management - $30,000 ARPA Grant
• City of Portsmouth: Wastewater and Stormwater Asset Management - $210,000 ARPA Grant

Background:
ARPA is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill to speed up the United States’ recovery from the economic health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant recession. The Act defines eligible uses of the state and local funding, including responding to public health emergencies, responding to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 emergency, providing revenue relief to states and making investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.  

For more information regarding infrastructure funding programs such as ARPA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) being administered by NHDES visit the NHDES Infrastructure Funding website. 
For more information, please contact Ted Diers, NHDES at theodore.e.diers@des.nh.gov or (603) 271-3289.