The NHDES Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to develop a Cyanobacteria Monitoring Plan and conduct Cyanobacteria Monitoring in Public Water System surface sources for the 2024 season. The Request for Proposals, RFP DES 2024-09, has a closing date of November 15, 2023.

Please see the NH Statewide Bids and Proposals website and search by Bid# "RFP DES 2024-09" for further information.

The Municipal EcoLink is a monthly e-bulletin designed to inform cities and towns of the latest environmental ideas, trends, grants, rules and more from NHDES. We respectfully request that municipalities electronically distribute or otherwise make available this newsletter to your municipal committees, councils and boards. Please feel free to post it on your municipal website as well.

Read the September 2023 Newsletter  

With autumn approaching and plants slowly fading, you may think that invasive plants aren’t as much of a concern. However, invasive plants are just as prominent as ever in this season since many of these plants are herbaceous perennials or woody, meaning that they regrow year after year. It’s important to learn about what plants are invasive and how to dispose of them properly so that you can prevent the growth and spread of invasive species.

A recently issued report from NHDES details the results of the first of three rounds of testing for lead in drinking water at New Hampshire K-12 schools and licensed child care facilities.  

Many of you have probably seen or heard the recent news that Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Company (Saint-Gobain) has decided to close their Merrimack facility. NHDES learned of the planned closure via a telephone call with a company official on the morning of August 23, the same day that the news was made public. It is our understanding that the facility will continue to operate until sometime in the middle of 2024.   

The summer of 2023 will be remembered for long periods of rain, some of it very damaging, particularly for western New Hampshire and our neighbors in Vermont. In addition to the rain, the summer of 2023 gave us several stretches of quite uncomfortable heat and humidity. But perhaps most of all, summer 2023 will be remembered for the Canadian wildfire smoke that had such an impact on air quality in the Northeast and other areas of the United States.

NHDES Wetlands Bureau staff joined state partners, including the Bureau of Trails and Fish & Game Department, at a special event for off-highway vehicles in Jericho Mountain State Park in Berlin this summer. Staying on trails and steering clear of wetlands is required by law and helps protect nearby waterways. Recreational trail construction and maintenance in or near wetlands may require a Statutory Permit by Notification.

Most people are familiar with the school essay ritual of writing up what we did over the summer once we are back-to-school. As a kid or young adult, my essays likely included the many hours of kick-the-can played in the backyard or the vacation our family took to Lake Winnisquam each summer. As I got older, the essays would have focused on less exciting times such as summer waitressing jobs. My essays pale in comparison to what college students and recent graduates who take advantage of unique internships, like the ones we provide at NHDES, could write. 

Two New Hampshire school districts were awarded $2,765,000 recently to purchase new electric school buses. The Henniker SAU Office will integrate four electric buses into its fleet, and the Rumney School District will add three.