​Bedford Reps: Saint-Gobain​ Should Connect Local Properties To Manchester Water

BEDFORD, NH — In a letter to Edward J. Canning, Director of Environment, Health and Safety of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, three members of House leadership, who also represent the town of Bedford, have called upon the Merrimack-based corporation to connect more than 100 Bedford properties impacted by elevated levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to the Manchester Water Works, according to a press statement. In April 2016, state officials confirmed that Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics was the likely the source of water contamination in southern New Hampshire. At that time the Department of Environmental Services requested that the company put in place a public water treatment system.

Deputy Majority Leader John Graham, Assistant Majority Leader David Danielson, and Assistant Majority Whip Terry Wolf, members of the seven-person House delegation that represents Bedford, have urged Saint-Gobain to move forward with the Manchester Water Works immediately. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Bedford NH Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

“The residents of these homes have been significantly impacted since they learned of the contamination in April 2016,” wrote the Bedford lawmakers. “Families cannot brush their teeth, rinse food or drink water from the tap in their own homes. Residents had expected to be hooked to municipal water by November 2016. While many homes in southern New Hampshire have been connected to public water, Bedford property owners have not and they have been told to wait for a decision in late September.”

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Calling the delay, “unacceptable,” the lawmakers said that the people of Bedford cannot wait for this to be dragged out until the spring of 2018.

The town of Bedford has worked closely with Saint-Gobain, Pennichuck Water Works and the NH Department of Environmental Services over the last 18 months. The Environmental Protection Agency recently tightened water standards for PFOA, a by-product of making weatherproof or non-stick materials.