• Largest ARRA drinking water project in NH
Tom Burack, DES Commissioner said, "In Seabrook and in municipalities throughout the state, investment in water infrastructure is necessary to ensure communities prosper and thrive. This particular facility will improve public health protection for more than 14,000 people serviced by the system by removing arsenic, iron, manganese, and radon from the well water that supplies this public water system."
In total DES will be providing ARRA loans for 56 drinking water system improvement projects statewide and 48 wastewater system improvement projects. Under ARRA, The state received $37.60 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program to finance municipal wastewater system upgrades, and $18.72 million for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program for drinking water system upgrades.
"It is important to note that we are the only state that is attempting to provide all of the ARRA project funds as loan forgiveness by matching it with traditional state revolving loan fund dollars. For instance, 50 percent of Seabrook's loan will be subsidized, lowering the overall cost of the project by 2.5 million dollars. The net result is that NH has been able to maximize the number of critical water and wastewater projects funded statewide while at the same time providing significant subsidization and attractive loan terms," noted Commissioner Burack.
Completion of this new treatment facility will bring the water supplied by Seabrook into compliance with the drinking water standard for arsenic established in 2006 and resolve an Administrative Order by Consent (AOC) the town entered into with DES in 2009.
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