[Lake Winnipesaukee Assoc]

Originally Posted by HalfMiler

Many thanks for the ongoing updates regarding the sewer line ruptures along route 25 in Center Harbor. Can anyone provide insight to the rights and responsibilities of the involved parties - the line owner, the town, the state, the impacted property owners?

Yes! There is a two town “sewer district” made up of Moultonborough and Center Harbor. The Bay District Sewer Commission is an elected commission made up of 3 commissioners who manage the Bay District collection system in the two towns, as far as I know they employ one part-time engineer to oversee the general operation of the system. This system is a part of the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program (WRBP) which falls under the jurisdiction of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES). Although the Sewer District falls under the oversight of the WRBP, they are still responsible for contacting NHDES and EPA to report a spill- which they have done for the Jan 16,2024 rupture and the November 2023 rupture which was approx. 60 ft. away. According to NHDES the culvert was blocked, lined, cleaned, and repaired and is not thought to be a concern for a chronic source of point pollution into the Bay. They will continue to test and monitor the area for E.Coli and pathogens.

The larger concern in our opinion is that this is the second break in a fairly short period of time in one localized area. Our infrastructure statewide is aging and is something that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. In addition to age, climate change is also thought to be a factor in pipe failures due to changes such as temperature and precipitation.