Epping reportedly endangering Durham drinking water and Lamprey River

According to details published, near the end of April 2023, it's reported that the Town of Epping has been knowingly contaminating the Lamprey River.

Below are some of the comments that were published at Fosters.com:
 

A letter sent by Durham and the University of New Hampshire asks for state and federal help to protect drinking water from a treatment plant upstream from the town. The letter sent April 10, 2023, to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the Environmental Protection Agency, indicates their concern for the Lamprey River, which town and university officials say is in danger because of Epping's failing wastewater treatment system.  They note that the river is a major source of the town's drinking water.  "This danger to the river all stems from Epping having a faulty wastewater treatment plant," said Todd Selig, Durham's town administrator.  "They are not operating in compliance with their permits.  And the kind of treatment they moved to in 2021 uses untried methods for filter treatment that are not working."
 

The Conservation Law Foundation is also voicing concern. "I don't know how this problem got so severe, but now it is shocking to me that it was allowed to get so bad for so long," said Melissa Paly, Great Bay–Piscataqua waterkeeper for the Conservation Law Foundation.  "Epping has been aware of this issue for several years, and they know the last two winters this system failed.  It is a system they installed that is not designed to work in cold weather.  Epping is a fast-growing community, and they need to take responsibility and do what others do, adequately address their wastewater."
 

"We are very concerned about this and feel not enough pressure to act is being put on the town," said Paly. "Durham's drinking water is at risk. And the Lamprey a federally designated wild and scenic river. People fish here, swim here, recreate and that is all at risk. This continuing is going to seriously impact the river and Great Bay estuary, and it is outrageous for it to continue."  Selig said data shows Epping produces 320,000 gallons of wastewater a day.  ​"They can process only 60,000 and the rest goes to the lagoons," Selig said. "There it stays and settles, they tried to chlorinate the material before it discharges into the Lamprey, another bad choice. The Lamprey is a major source of water for Durham. We are resourceful and have been relying more heavily on wells and the Oyster River. Still, this is not ideal, and besides our drinking water, the Lamprey River is a federally designated scenic river, used by wildlife, for recreation and it is now endangering the Great Bay and estuaries."

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Now...ask yourself who was (or still) on the Epping Select Board, Water & Sewer Commission and involved with Town administration that were (are) responsible for the failure of our Sewer system?  Were not the Town of Epping Taxpayers over the past few years assessed millions of dollars in expenses to upgrade both the Water and Sewer system facilities, not once but with multiple bond measures?  Who in Town government is going to "own" up to the ill advised and/or incomplete research that has now led to this failure and what plans are in place to rectify the problems?
 

A comment that was made by a taxpayer in Epping was: "It never ceases to amaze me of all the “issues” that little ‘ol Epping tries to keep from the public.  I only learned of the recent severity of the sewer problems about a week or so ago when having a candid conversation with one of our elected Town officials".

Another Epping Taxpayer said:  "Epping is far overdue in disbanding the Water/Sewer Commission (since there seems to really be no serious desire for anyone to actually be there) and bring the Water/Sewer Dept under the direct control of the Select Board to where they can be held accountable for this situation (rather than the usual finger pointing/passing the buck, etc.).  All in all there will be another gigantic warrant article soon for millions more to be poured into Water/Sewer (on top of all the other $$’s having been spent the last few years)".  "Like I’ve always said….Epping has perfected the art of “Crisis Management” as opposed to truly putting some genuine thought into short term and intermediate (even long term) planning…and then following through".

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Updated information (below) from an article that was published by Fosters.com on May 11, 2023

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Karen Dandurant

Fosters Daily Democrat

Published 5:18 a.m. ET  May 11, 2023

DURHAM — As the town of Epping works to address environmental concerns over failings in how it treats wastewater, the town of Durham and the University of New Hampshire temporarily discontinued use of water from the Lamprey River, one of their prime sources of potable water. This change occurred Monday, May 8, according to Durham Town Administrator Todd Selig, adding Epping will initiate its own bypass process Thursday, May 11.  He said the Epping wastewater transfer facility staff and the Durham wastewater treatment facility staff have been in frequent communications and are in agreement to the plan.
 

"The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services directed the UNH/Durham water system to be off the Lamprey for both plant and recharge beginning (May 11)," Selig said. "This required our joint town/UNH system to transition slowly to avoid any water quality issues and to balance the plant beginning this past Monday."  Selig went on to explain Durham's water sourcing plan.

"Effective Tuesday evening (May 9) we were no longer recharging and we were on a 100% Oyster River blend," he said. "Beginning (Wednesday) we are on 75% Oyster River and 25% Spruce Hole (well) blend, still with no recharge.  Our system will continue to be off the federally designated Wild and Scenic Lamprey River until partially treated wastewater bypassing ceases in Epping, which at this time is unknown.  It's a very unfortunate and problematic situation on many levels."  Selig said Durham and UNH water users should understand their water is safe, although the system has lost its resiliency.  "If we have drought conditions this summer, it could be a real challenge," he said. "Not to mention potential environmental concerns Epping's ongoing partially treated wastewater discharge could have for wildlife, the environment, and recreation.
 

"It is our understanding the town of Durham should be able to stay off of the Lamprey for a considerable amount of time so that once we start, we should be able to continue (24/7), as long as necessary," said Selig.  "We will continue to do that as long as Epping continues surcharging partially treated water into the Lamprey River," said Selig. "Durham has diversified water sources, and we will do what we need to do assure the town and the university have safe drinking water."
 

In April, a letter sent by Durham and the University of New Hampshire asked for state and federal help to protect drinking water from Epping's treatment plant, which is upstream from the town.  The letter sent April 10, 2023, to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the Environmental Protection Agency, indicates their concern for the Lamprey River, which town and university officials say is in danger because of Epping's failing wastewater treatment system.  "This danger to the river all stems from Epping having a faulty wastewater treatment plant," said Selig. "They are not operating in compliance with their permits. And the kind of treatment they moved to in 2021 uses untried methods for filter treatment that are not working."
 

"I don't know how this problem got so severe, but now it is shocking to me that it was allowed to get so bad for so long," said Melissa Paly, Great Bay-Piscataqua waterkeeper for the Conservation Law Foundation, in an earlier interview. "Epping has been aware of this issue for several years, and they know the last two winters this system failed.  It is a system they installed that is not designed to work in cold weather.  Epping is a fast-growing community, and they need to take responsibility and do what others do, adequately address their wastewater."
 

A letter to Epping in March, sent by NHDES Commissioner Robert Scott, indicates Epping has had issues with its existing hollow fiber membranes, part of the filtration system for their treatment plant since 2006, and has yet to resolve the problems. The letter says the membranes cannot adequately process wastewater, particularly in cold weather.  Excess flow is diverted into two lagoons and as they fill, excess is chlorinated and discharged into the Lamprey River. The chlorination is not sufficient to clean the wastewater.
 

In December 2022, under an administrative order from NHDES, the Epping Water and Sewer Board developed and approved a wastewater treatment facility corrective action plan (WWTF CAP) to stabilize the process and minimize wastewater bypasses in the intermediate term (0 to 4 years) and provide a permanent treatment solution within four years to meet the town’s long-term wastewater needs.
 

In a letter dated Sept. 12, 2022, the environmental agency issued a sewage and septic moratorium, disallowing any new connections to the Epping service, in light of "significant operational issues."
 

Epping Town Administrator Greg Dodge, who will retire in June, previously said the town is working hard to comply with everything being asked by the state DES.  'We have a corrective action plan in place, working with the DES and the EPA," said Dodge. "We know we have some monumental issues, and we are working to correct that. I don't think continuing to penalize the town, assessing more fines will be helpful. We are already facing huge expenses here. We will continue to address the issues."