Waste Water Treatment Facility

The Waste Water Facility has just completed Phase 1, which involved upgrading the septic area and cleaning the lagoons.  Phase 2, which is in the beginning stages involved the acquisition of the Balcastro property for affluent percolation to eliminate the Suncook River as an outlet for treated affluent. 

Pittsfield receives Department of Environmental Services septage grant funds

Project increases state septage capacity

DES has awarded $33,504 to the town of Pittsfield for creating innovative alternative septage treatment. These

DES Commissioner Nolin (right) presents a check to Pittsfield town officials, Arthur Morse and Ron Vein.

 funds represent the first monies from the newly-created state funded septage disposal grant program, referred to as the State Aid Grant Plus (SAG Plus). The award reimburses the town 50 percent of eligible costs incurred while conducting the pilot project. DES Commissioner Michael Nolin presented the grant to the town at a ceremony held at the Pittsfield Town Hall in August. This award ceremony was designed to recognize the leadership efforts of town officials and the importance of innovative and alternative technologies to increase the state's septage disposal capacity.

Pittsfield's two-year project, which involved a public/private partnership with Bill Gosse of Gosse Septic Service, resulted in the town's wastewater treatment plant being able to significantly increase its septage disposal capacity. During the 2003-2004 project, Pittsfield Water Pollution Control Facility processed more than 1.3 million gallons of raw septage. The project showed that the facility could support as much as 3 million gallons per year with strict control on filtrate quality. The full report can be found on the DES web site, through the permission of the Turner Group, TTG Environmental Consultants: View Report. In the first full year of operation following the project, the Pittsfield facility received 2.8 million gallons of septage

Increasing septage disposal capacity is important to the local residents and to the environment because it helps keep the costs associated with the proper maintenance of a septic system affordable. Approximately 80 percent of new development in the state relies on septic systems to treat sanitary wastes. Septic system failure poses a threat of contamination to the state's water resources and creates a public health problem. Additionally, this facility is important for New Hampshire because it expands our overall septage disposal capacity. Currently, New Hampshire has a deficit of septage disposal capacity as it sends 27 percent of septage generated out of state.

All New Hampshire municipalities have a statutory responsibility to provide or assure access to septage disposal for their residents. The SAG Plus was created through the efforts of the Septage Task Force and the New Hampshire Legislature as a proactive method of creating much needed additional disposal capacity. DES is presently working with communities around the state to increase their septage capacity through the SAG Plus Program.

For more information about the award presentation or SAG Plus, please contact Ray Gordon, DES septage coordinator, at (603) 271-3571 or rgordon@des.state.nh.us.