Paugus Bay water test clear after oil spill

LAKEPORT — Initial results from environmental testing of water quality returned clean on Thursday, removing any doubt regarding the safety of the city’s drinking water after an oil spill into Paugus Bay.

New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services employees worked with the city Water Department to collect samples to be tested by the state Wednesday. DES tested water samples taken from Paugus Bay for the presence of volatile organic compounds or synthetic organic compounds. 

Some of the results from those tests were available Thursday and confirmed contaminated water did not enter the city’s drinking water system, Water Superintendent Benjamin Crawford said Thursday afternoon. 

Testing results for volatile organic compounds returned Thursday and were clear, but test results for synthetic organic compounds would not be available for 7-10 days, DES spokesperson Jim Martin said Thursday. DES requested the city water department to perform additional tests Friday.

Crawford notified DES Thursday that an inspection of the water intake at the plant confirmed that there was no visible sheen along the shoreline.

Booms installed to contain the spill would remain in place until DES gives the city permission to remove them, he said. 

The testing was prompted after a corroded 330-gallon oil tank apparently leaked into a catch basin overnight at Meineke Car Care Center and oil made its way through a storm drain and eventually into Lake Winnipesaukee at Paugus Bay, the source of the city's drinking water.

That sort of leak can happen over time as metal containers rust out, Martin said Wednesday, noting it was believed the tank was not full at the time of the leak.

Auto shop employees discovered the leak when they arrived at work on Tuesday morning and immediately began the clean-up process with Clean Harbors Environmental, a waste management company from Bow. 

While cleaning the spill, which was initially believed to be contained within the auto shop, employees discovered some quantity of oil ran into a stream located between the shop and D’Angelo Grilled Sandwiches on Union Avenue.

Meineke co-owner Greg Masewic said the corroded tank would be immediately replaced and such storage apparatus would be placed into containment barrels in order to collect any oil leak that could happen in the future. Existing leak procedures would be reviewed and reinforced among staff members at the shop, he said Wednesday.

Various state and local agencies spent Tuesday and Wednesday installing buoyant booms and absorbent pads on Paugus Bay and had contained the spill later in the afternoon Tuesday. The leak, which several described as minor.

Water Department management turned the intake pumps off around 2 p.m. on Tuesday and turned them back on at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. 

Crawford said Wednesday the spill provided businesses and city employees a valuable learning experience in order to prevent any similar event down the line and a statement from the Lake Winnipesaukee Association recommended continuous testing for volatile organic compounds in the waters of Paugus Bay to assess impacts down the line. 

“This event is a prime example of why development within a source water protection area needs to be limited and how businesses on the shoreline must implement protective actions to limit pollution to Paugus Bay,” the statement read in part.