Growth & Water

Despite the spread of residential development around Paugus Bay — the source of the municipal water supply — the sheer volume of water ceaselessly passing through Laconia significantly lessens the risks to the high quality of the city's water. While the volume of water reduces the concentration of pollutants, the perpetual flow through the chain of lakes regularly cleanses the system, much like flushing a toilet.

The Laconia Water Works (LWW) serves nearly 6,000 customers, but Superintendent Rodger "Mike" Matthewman said that another 2,200 dwelling units are either under construction or being planned. And many of these homes will be built in the watersheds surrounding Paugus Bay, the direct source of the municipal water supply, and Lake Winnipesaukee, which drains into Paugus Bay.

The Planning Board has approved or is considering proposals to build nearly 1,000 units in the two watersheds, almost two-thirds of them along the eastern shore of Paugus Bay on the sloping terrain between Weirs Boulevard and White Oaks Road. The Akwa Soleil project at The Weirs includes 170 homesites and an 18-hole golf course on the south side of Route 3, above Moulton and Pickerel coves in addition to the 171 lots on Brickyard Mountain.

Meanwhile, residential development and traffic congestion at The Weirs has prompted some to consider reopening Hilliard Road, which ran between Parade Road and Route 3 before the southern third of its length was abandoned. Another through route to The Weirs paralleling Rollercoaster Road to the south could spur development on the western shore of Paugus Bay, though the state-owned Paugus State Forest serves as an extensive buffer.

For several years the Conservation Commission and Watershed Advisory Committee have expressed concern about the threats to water quality from increased residential development and recreational boating. Diane Hanley of the Conservation Commission stressed that forested buffer provides the most effective means of safeguarding surface waters. Development, she said, increases the likelihood that runoff will carry nutrients, especially phosphorus and nitrogen in fertilizers, accelerating the growth of algae. Likewise, stormwater from paved areas can carry petroleum products. Hanley feared that the runoff from a golf course could contain fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

Although Matthewman acknowledged the risks, he said that the very nature of Paugus Bay worked to enhance the quality of its water. "Dilution is the big factor we have working for us," he said, explaining that "contamination will be caught earlier rather than later and the large volumes of water keeps it at safe levels. That is the great advantage Laconia has."

Covering 1,220 acres and holding 13 billion gallons of water, Paugus Bay is the only outlet for Lake Winnipesaukee, which holds an estimated 625 billion gallons of water that turns over about once every five years. Last August, the Lake Winnipesaukee Watershed Association reported that water quality remained sound, despite pressures from development around the lake. The flow of water out of Paugus Bay itself varies with the flow allowed at the Lakeport Dam, but in the summer takes between 10 and 43 days to turn over. The source of municipal water is constantly being replenished.

Mathewman said that the LWW monitors water quality closely by taking a dozen samples every week between May and October from the bay and the brooks that empty into it. The LWW is qualified to test only for bacteria and must send samples to state and private laboratories for more extensive testing. Matthewman said that as the testing parameters expand, the cost rises. In 2004-2005, the LWW budgeted $6,800 for testing, a figure that will almost double in 2005-2006.

"So far we're great," Matthewman said, emphasizing that local and state tests confirmed that the quality of the municipal water supply consistently ranked among the very highest in the state.

However, Matthewman shared widespread concerns about MtBE, warning that elevated levels in Paugus Bay were the result of boating in the warmer months of spring and summer. In 2003, a study by the Environmental Research Group at the University of New Hampshire confirmed that motorboats, particularly those with two-stroke carbureted engines, were the major source of high levels of MtBE reported in the spring and summer. The report found that MtBE was also carried into Paugus Bay from Lake Winnipesaukee. MtBE from other sources, like stormwater, the researchers found was "insignificant." Even the elevated levels recorded fell far short of the threshold of 13 parts per billion (ppb), with most samples reporting less than 5 ppb.

Although development will add to boat traffic on the bay, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced stricter emission standards that will end the sale of two-stroke engines in 2006. Meanwhile, for several years local marinas have been selling fuel with lower concentrations of MtBE.

Matthewman said that water quality would have to deteriorate very significantly to require additional investment in the treatment plant. "The rule of thumb is that it's always easier to treat dirty water than clean water," he remarked, explaining that "with clean water it's harder to project what to treat and how to treat it." He emphasized that "the treatment plant is geared to treat water for everything that we know is out there." He said that an upgrade to the plant, built in 1989, is scheduled for 2007 or 2008 will further improve the treatment process.

The plant draws more than 2.5 million gallons a day from an intake pipe 17 feet deep at the LWW facility above the Lakeport Dam on Union Avenue. At the treatment plant just up the hill on Stark Rd., the water is passed through an elaborate set of filters, then laced with chlorine and fluoride before passing into a reservoir, which feeds tanks at The Weirs, Long Bay and Briarcrest.

Like Hanley, Matthewman is concerned about the loss of the wooded buffer protecting the watershed. The LWW has consistently expressed misgivings about locating fueling operations in the watershed, most recently opposing a proposal to build a gas station and convenience store at the junction of Weirs Boulevard and Endicott Street. Likewise, Matthewman, who represents the LWW on the Planning Review Committee, has monitored the design of drainage systems closely to ensure that they include sufficient measures to capture pollutants and sediments before they reach the bay.

"Most people realize the importance of the water supply," Matthewman said. "Absolutely growth puts water quality at risk, but so far we're in good shape."