There Is No Water Deal Between Concord And Bow: City Manager

CONCORD, NH — Published reports suggesting the town of Bow and the city of Concord have entered into a water sales deal are inaccurate.

What is accurate is that the city is studying the possibility of selling some of its drinking water in the future.

At the Concord City Council’s Dec. 11, 2023, meeting, councilors approved $86,000 in grant funds from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services’ Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund for a “source development charge study for water sales” outside of Concord.

“This study will establish fees for water users outside Concord’s boundaries who may receive water service to pay for their portion of Source Capacity from Concord,” an Oct. 26, 2023, report from Earle Chesley, the General Services director, said. “Source Capacity includes developing an additional water source and the necessary treatment facilities to develop it.”

The report said Concord’s water supply had been “well-managed throughout its history” while establishing policies to protect the source, Penacook Lake, and “investing in appropriate treatment technology.” The water department and council decisions made other communities “envious” and some communities have reached out to Concord to “correct their contamination issues.”

Establishing a “source development charge” could protect the city and its water customers from “the burden of paying for source expansion that may be driven by consumption outside of the city limits while helping neighboring communities correct containment water supplies,” the report stated.

City Manager Tom Aspell said Wednesday he expected the study’s findings to be available in the Spring. At that time, the city may move forward with future plans to establish more sources of water and sell it to other communities. But, he said, there was no agreement to sell water to Bow or any other community.

Due to so much rain in 2023, revenues for the water department were under budget by nearly $627,000. Aspell said on Dec. 11, 2023, during a discussion about transferring fund balances, there was so much rain no one watered their lawns. Even after amending the water fund budget, it was still short by $147,100, according to city documents.

At the beginning of the priority setting meeting on Monday, Mayor Byron Champlin, after receiving questions from the public earlier in the day, said a story in the Concord Monitor and elsewhere that there had been an agreement was “not true.” The Bow Times, in its February edition, also incorrectly reported the communities had struck a deal.

Champlin said the city was studying the issue to consider taking, “a regional approach,” with drinking water. Champlin said the council would have to agree to such a proposal.

“As all of you know,” he said, “that vote has not taken place.”

Champlin wanted to clarify to residents and councilors that the stories were inaccurate and “bad news.”

Aspell said both Bow and Pembroke had expressed interest in arranging a water sales deal with the city in the past. According to prior published reports, discussions with Bow have gone on for many decades.

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