By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
NEWPORT, N.H. — Groundbreaking for the new wastewater treatment plant in Newport is expected to take place by the end of this month, and recent flaws in the system show just how vital this need is. The plant is expected to be completed in about two years.
“We’re hoping to break ground this month, but we still need to sign the letter to proceed,” Town Manager Kyle Harris said. “We haven’t officially awarded the contract and are working out some details with the state and the federal government with the funding aspects of it.”
The contractor the town has been working with is Methuen Construction, and Harris hopes they can get everything started as soon as possible.
“It will take about two years,” Harris said. “Right now, it is tentatively scheduled to finish in November of 2026.”
Wastewater treatment has been a hot button issue in the town of Newport, with a proposed rate change coming and that officials recently needed to clear a clog and also fix a blower in the aeration system that caused a pretty nasty smell to roll through town.
Newport Selectman Jeff Kessler noted during the last meeting of the board that recently Maple Street was quiet because the Water and Sewer Department needed to dig into the road to clear a blockage. He said crews were pulling items like paper towels and other things out, saying that he didn’t want to get too in depth with what was being found in the clog.
Kessler reminded people that if it’s not something “you blow your nose with or wipe your other end with” it’s probably not good to flush. The staff spent a good part of the weekend of Nov. 2 digging into the sewer system to clear the blockage. They also discovered another break in the line causing blockage.
“Certain things are not meant to be put down your toilets or however you get it in the sewer system,” Kessler said.
Harris said that a primary blower in the aeration system failed recently, and this was followed by the system’s backup blower failing, as well. This caused for quite a nasty smell to roll through the area, but Harris said this should dissipate over time.
While Harris said the new blower is working, it took some time to be compatible with the old wastewater treatment plant system.
“At our wastewater treatment facility, a primary aeration blower failed about two-and-a-half weeks ago,” Harris said. “We were running a backup, but that blower seized also. The backup blower unit is from the mid ‘80s. We got a new blower replaced, but the belt on the system wasn’t compatible with the blower. That melted and we needed to shut the system down again.”
Harris said they struggled to find a belt because the blower company was from the 1980s and the belt company was bought out by another company.
“We found something real close,” Harris said. “We ran the blower unit all day Tuesday, shut it down at night. Started it back up Wednesday, all day and overnight, and then all day Thursday and overnight. We need to aerate those lagoons 24 hours a day. Once they get aeration into the system, the biological process starts and that essentially breaks down the sludge and keeps the odors under control.”
Kessler said that with rising sewer rates coming at the town, it is best to probably not have the water and sewer department workers out digging into the streets on weekends.
“Be careful what goes down the toilets because our system is old, it could clog up, and it’s a lot of work to clean out,” he said.
In regard to the rising rates, Finance Director and Town Manager Paul Brown made an informational presentation to the board regarding proposed sewer rates at the last meeting, proposing a 30% bump in 2027. The current sewer rate is at $16.84 per 1,000 gallons, and a 30% increase brings it to $21.89. The proposal calls for 30%, 50% and 20% in the following years. This proposal is set up this way to “soften the blow,” instead of doing a 135% increase all at once in one year.
But the recent woes show just how needed the new wastewater treatment plant is in town. The town of Newport is just about to start construction on the $33 million wastewater treatment plant project.
Recently there was a Special Town Meeting held, and a warrant article passed allowing the appropriation of funds and the ability to authorize loans vital for the completion of the project. Brown said that the rate change proposal was dependent on whether that warrant article passed, saying if it did not, these rates that he presented would be nowhere close to what would be needed.
Newport voters recently approved the warrant article at a Special Town Meeting that allows the appropriation of $5 million for the design, construction and upgrade of a wastewater treatment plant. A 60% majority of vote was required, and the town voted 363-18 in favor of the article. This was the final piece of the puzzle, and officials are looking forward to the new facility being built.
Notably, the new facility will help alleviate any issue surrounding smells throughout town.
“The new processes with the new plant will help reduce odors even more,” Harris said. “There are new aeration units in the facility being built.”
