By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer

Hooksett, Allenstown and Pembroke sewer treatment plants are near capacity, but a recent meeting with the state revealed that they may not be able to expand their plants – a problem that could slow area development.

Hooksett Sewer Commission Chairman Sid Baines said that when he went to the state with a request to expand the plant after years of planning, he was denied because of low oxygen levels in the Merrimack River. The low oxygen levels may be in violation of the Clean Water Act, a federal law.

Every sewer connection directs all sewage to the town treatment plant. The plant then separates the solids from the liquids. In Hooksett, the solids are trucked out of town for disposal, and will soon go to a composting plant that has been proposed. In Hooksett, Allenstown and many other communities on the Merrimack River, the liquid sewage is treated and cleaned and then expelled into the river.

“We’re up to capacity and we’re trying to stretch it out. This will cost us more money.” – James Rodger, Allenstown Sewer Commission

Baines said Hooksett has been planning a new plant for five years because the town is getting close to capacity. Hooksett even got a bond for the expansion in 2001. Sewer hookups have been sold to developments that are being built or still in the planning stages. Once all hookups are actually in use, Hooksett will be treating 996,000 gallons of sewage a day. Capacity for the plant is 1.1 million gallons.

In order to prevent polluting the river more, the state will only let towns expand their plants if they find a way to keep the output into the river virtually the same as it is now. This would require an expensive filtration system, Baines said.

“Hooksett and Allenstown are the only communities on the river that need to expand,” Baines said. “Now, the smallest contributors to the river are being asked to do more than the others.”

James A. Rodger, chairman of Allenstown’s sewer board, said the town already has a partial moratorium that allows only 10 new hookups a year to be installed. Allenstown shares its plant with Pembroke, under an agreement that allows Pembroke to have 65 percent of the plant’s capacity, leaving Allenstown with 35 percent.

“We’re up to capacity and we’re trying to stretch it out,” Rodger said. “This will cost us more money.”

Rodger said he is disappointed at all the obstacles preventing the town from expanding and said there was absolutely no notification of the changes.

“We are very urgently looking ahead,” Rodger said. “What it looks like we have to do is improve the quality of water to the point where it’s not going to further burden the river. In order to do that, you need all different technology.”

George Berlandi from the Department of Environmental Services said that is what the DES is suggesting.

“We’re trying very hard not to limit the expansion,” Berlandi said. “They need to grow, so we are going to explain that the best option is to hold to the permit limit of poundage. They will have the ability to expand and increase their flow.”

Berlandi said each town will need an engineer to look at the facility and see how that can best be done. The plants have a limit on the number of pounds which can be put into the river, and Berlandi said that must not increase. There are ways to expand a plant and treat more sewage without increasing what is put in the river.

Baines said the technology would cost a few million dollars and would purify the water to where it could possibly be drinkable.

“If we knew this in advance, we would have planned,” Baines said. “They told us that in order to qualify we needed a plan and financial wherewithal – how we would borrow the money and a means of paying it back. We put everything in place and went to the state. They have known and gave us no notification.”

Berlandi said that when towns reach 80 percent capacity they are asked to tell the state and come up with a possible plan for expansion. Berlandi said it is just a way to keep everyone updated, not to make concrete plans, which is why Hooksett and Allenstown were not notified about the changes.

“Permits continue to get more and more stringent,” Berlandi said. “Hooksett will have to design a plant to treat to a lower level than they are now. What it does is continue to allow the town to grow. We don’t want to stop them but we are trying to address water quality violations.”

Hooksett Town Planner Charles Watson said he doesn’t expect the problem to stop development. Watson said that the state has not planned effectively for the exploding development in New Hampshire.

“If you stop development you are cutting off the tax base that could be used for a solution to the problem,” Watson said. “I can’t imagine this kind of problem can be that long-lasting.”