New & Noteworthy
M&E Begins Major Granite State Project
The Great Bay Estuary, known as the “jewel of the New Hampshire seacoast,” is located in one of the state’s fastest-growing regions and also borders part of Maine. The estuary is a tidally dominated embayment covering approximately 17 square miles with a 144-mile shoreline. Some of the municipal wastewater treatment plants located in the Seacoast Region discharge treated wastewater into streams that empty into the ecologically sensitive Great Bay Estuary.
Representatives from some of the 47 communities that surround the estuary (such as Durham, Portsmouth, Rochester, and Dover) and other area stakeholders have formed a study commission to undertake a wastewater management project. This project will address the growing wastewater disposal concerns in their region, help them maintain compliance with stringent Federal disposal standards, and protect the Great Bay Estuary — a valuable recreational and aesthetic asset for the region. The overall goal is to achieve restoration of the Great Bay Estuary habitat.
To enable these communities to combine their resources to address these challenges, the state legislature approved Senate Bill (SB) 70. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) will administer the project on behalf of the study commission.
In August, NHDES retained M&E to conduct an 18-month study that will help the study commission, chaired by NH Senator Russell Prescott, determine how to dispose of their treated wastewater, and handle, treat, and dispose of the growing volume of septage in the study area.
Evaluating several wastewater management alternatives
M&E is currently gathering information from all 47 communities and collecting data from 16 treatment plants. “Our mission is to evaluate a range of wastewater and septage management alternatives – up to eight potentially feasible concepts,” said M&E Vice President Bob Scherpf. “We will then work with the study commission, the NHDES, and regional and community based organizations to whittle that preliminary list to four alternatives for further evaluation. We will vet these alternatives using water quality, engineering, economic, environmental impact, and public acceptance criteria, as well as 20-year growth projections for the region.”
Some of the proposed alternatives may include:
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Upgrade to advanced treatment: Upgrade the existing plants to advanced wastewater treatment and continue to discharge treated effluent to the existing location.
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Discharge to the Atlantic Ocean: Continue with the same level of treatment, with discharge of treated effluent to the Atlantic Ocean. Three alternative discharge sites at different distances from the shore will be evaluated.
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Advanced treatment with land application of treated effluent: Upgrade the existing plants to advanced wastewater treatment and discharge treated effluent via land application (up to four sites will be evaluated).
For the three options listed above, non-sewered communities with a need for a wastewater treatment facility would build a collection system and connect to one of the existing wastewater plants. Septage and receiving treatment will be considered if the septage capacity is over one million gallons per day.
“M&E’s team is unbiased as to whether the solution should be a regional or local approach,” said Scherpf.
This is a challenging project because of the large number of communities involved, each with their own wastewater management issues. “Thirty one communities in the region don’t have collection or treatment right now and face growing concerns of septage disposal,” said Scherpf. “Part of the study will address those concerns.”
For the study commission, the NHDES and other area stakeholders, this study is an important step in restoring and protecting the natural beauty of the Great Bay Estuary and Seacoast Region – assets that fuel the region’s thriving tourist economy. Said Scherpf, “The study proponents and the region’s stakeholders are wise to plan for the future and preserve this great natural resource.”
