waste management

When you stop to think about it, the importance of water is undeniable. From the water we use to make our coffee in the morning to the water we brush our teeth with at bedtime- water touches every aspect of our lives. Luckily for us, we don’t need to think about it much. In New Hampshire, water plentifully surrounds us in our lakes, rivers, and oceans. Our taps run and our toilets flush. There are professionals out there whose job is to make sure you don’t have to think about these things. So far, this series has touched on the people who provide the water.

Clean water is essential for all life. We rely on it for cooking, drinking, bathing, cooling off on a hot day and, yes, even for removing our bathroom waste streams. We often don’t think about where our waste goes when we flush the toilet, and many would rather not think about its fate. However, 80 percent of all New Hampshire residents depend on on-site treatment for their wastewater. This means that their wastewater undergoes treatment in their septic tank before it is discharged into the ground to the leaching field for further treatment, before becoming part of the groundwater.

Upgrades of water treatment plants, replacement of water distribution mains, landfill closures, interceptor sewers, septage and wastewater treatment can all be big ticket items for a municipality. Drinking water projects, wastewater treatment plant upgrades and landfill closures can cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars on up into multi-millions of dollars, depending on the size and scope of the project. These larger projects are difficult to fund out of a municipality’s operating budget and generally will require some type of debt service.