Progress update on Saint-Gobain implementation of alternate water remedies

In Fall 2022, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics (SGPP) began implementation of multiple phases of work to permanently provide safe drinking water to hundreds of properties within portions of the towns of Bedford, Hudson, Litchfield, Londonderry and Merrimack, New Hampshire that are located inside the 2018 Consent Decree Outer Boundary. This included design work for waterline extensions and connections to municipal water where existing water mains are present, as well as the installation of Point-of Entry Treatment (POET) systems.

In November 2023, SGPP’s contractor began water main and curb stop installations on Rocky Hill Road, Shirley Way and Hillcrest Road north and west of Meadowbrook Lane in the town of Litchfield. Water main construction continued through the winter and was completed in Spring 2024. Work on water service connections for this area started in Spring 2024 and is expected to continue through August. Additional water main extensions and connections to existing water mains for areas of Merrimack and Bedford are scheduled to begin in July 2024 and continue through the remainder of the year.

SGPP began installation of POETs in December 2022 and as of June 2024, approximately 654 POET systems have been installed. Nearly all homeowners have now been notified of their POET system eligibility and assigned a contractor. If residents have been previously notified of their eligibility for a POET but have not been assigned a contractor, they are urged to contact Saint-Gobain at (800) 742-8498.

SGPP continues to sample drinking water from properties that are located inside the 2018 Consent Decree Outer Boundary. NHDES initiated sampling in areas of the Outer Boundary where SGPP refused to sample remaining water supply wells. Nearly all property owners that consented to sampling by NHDES have now had their well sampled. If laboratory analytical results from the ongoing drinking water sampling effort identify new exceedances of state water quality standards, bottled water is provided as an interim measure and permanent alternate water remedies (municipal water/POETs) are then proposed to NHDES by Saint-Gobain. To date, twenty attachments to the Term Sheet have been submitted to NHDES on behalf of Saint-Gobain with proposals for alternate water. These attachments have designated 732 properties for installation of POET systems, 192 properties for water service connections and 342 properties for an evaluation of a water main extension and service connections.