State leaders to hear communities' request to lower water program contributions

LACONIA — Representatives of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, town selectboards, city councils and sewer commissions will come together this week to discuss required contributions of the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program’s member communities.

The meeting, open to the public, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Belknap Mill downtown.

Members of the WRBP, a regional wastewater system, include Bay District; Belmont; Franklin; Gilford; Laconia; Meredith; Northfield; Sanbornton; and Tilton. The system was created in 1972, concurrent with the Clean Water Act.

The goal of the meeting is to discuss the thoughts or potential actions of NHDES staff in response to a letter of concern drafted by WRBP advisory board members regarding the operation and management of the program.

According to the agenda for the meeting, they’ll open with introductions of advisory board members and elected leaders before hearing presentations from the advisory board and NHDES staff. A moderated discussion is scheduled immediately thereafter.

A letter of concern signed by representatives of the member communities and addressed to NHDES Commissioner Robert Scott expressed concerns regarding the state’s ability to execute a capital improvements program that is “financially sustainable for the member communities.”

Primary concerns expressed in the letter include how funding is expended for projects; a lack of expertise on the program’s leadership team to properly manage and execute projects; an apparent inability of the management team to articulate a long-term, cost-effective capital improvements program; and inability of management to develop cost-effective strategies for asset renewal and to provide long-term rate impacts to taxpayers. 

In 2025, member communities received significant increases to their respective bills. About $70 million has been spent to construct the system, and annual operation and maintenance costs total around $4.7 million. Each community pays proportionally into the replacement fund, currently set at 5% of the total cost to completely replace the system over 10 years.

A 2020 estimate pegged the plant and assets at about $150 million, but the way the figure is calculated has since changed. Laconia’s bill, along with those for the member communities, increased after a revaluation set the new number at about $360 million. That resulted in attempted collections of $16 million over 10 years, divided proportionally.  

The 5% figure is set by a state law on Municipal Assessments, and requires legislative action for revision. At a meeting of the advisory board in September, members learned each community approved supporting a legislative request to reduce the percentage maintained in the replacement fund, from 5% to 2%, reducing the bills owed by each community.

And at the Oct. 27 meeting of the Laconia City Council, councilors approved their signature on the advisory board’s letter of concern.

At the meeting on Dec. 16, at the Belmont Mill, advisory board members learned Scott had replied to their concerns and was amenable to dialogue on the questions. They hope to find common ground on how to move forward during Thursday's meeting.