NHDES presents source water protection awards

Concord, NH - The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) recently presented several awards at its annual Source Water Protection Workshop. This year’s recipients recognized for exemplary efforts to protect our water resources were the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire (SELT), the Emerald Lake Village District Commissioners and Aquamen Water Solutions, and NHDES Source Water Protection Program Director Paul Susca.

The 2022 Source Water Protection Award was presented to the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire (SELT). SELT protects valuable water supply lands, which directly affect the water supplies of 52 towns including Manchester, Portsmouth, Rochester, Somersworth, Newmarket, Durham, Pennichuck and Salem. Of the land conservation projects supported by the New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund since 2017, SELT has been behind nearly one out of every four projects.

The 2022 Source Sustainability Award, recognizing work to preserve the sustainability of drinking water resources, was presented to the Emerald Lake Village District Commissioners and Aquamen Water Solutions. The Emerald Lake Village District in Hillsboro, NH, provides drinking water from eight active bedrock wells to over 1,300 people. Aquamen Water Solutions of Northwood, NH, has conducted repairs and replacements of 64 active leaking water mains since 2020, in addition to developing a better zone metering program, which drastically increases leak detection.

NHDES Commissioner Bob Scott presented Paul Susca with a recognition plaque. Paul is retiring this August from NHDES after 28 years of public service, having made an indelible mark on the agency’s efforts to protect drinking water resources and public health. Paul played a pivotal role in legislative efforts to reduce New Hampshire’s drinking water standard for arsenic from 10 parts per billion (ppb) to 5 ppb and has been a leader in New Hampshire's effort to permanently conserve critical water supply lands that protect sources of drinking water. He was also one of the founding architects of the Salmon Falls Collaborative (SFC), an ambitious and visionary interstate partnership nationally recognized in 2012 by the Clean Water America Alliance (CWAA) that selected the Collaborative for its prestigious U.S. Water Prize. At the national level, Paul has been active in the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA), serving as the chair of the organization’s Source Water Protection Committee.

For more information:

Contact Pierce Rigrod, NHDES Drinking Water and Groundwater Supervisor:
pierce.a.laskey-rigrod@des.nh.gov
(603) 271-0688

More information on:
NHDES Source Water Protection
New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund
Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire (SELT)
The Emerald Lake Village District
Aquamen Water Solutions