Mark Hounsell: Calling on selectmen to explain how town will take over water/sewer

The issue of local and surrounding communities' sludge and the town’s landfill leachate disposal as it relates to the North Conway Water Precinct’s wastewater treatment plant will be expensive to address. A major health risk that is real and currently exists demands that immediate and long-term remediation steps are critically important at this time.

As new federal rules are finalized, new allocations of federal grants to bring local community systems into compliance will become available. In February 2023, the EPA announced the availability of $2 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure legislation to address emerging contaminants, including PFAS, in drinking water across the country.

In the meantime, all citizens should seek to become conversant on this important health threat as we work together as a single town to do all we can to maintain safe drinking water for our local families, neighbors and guests.

I call on the selectmen to lead the way by becoming fully engaged in finding solutions. Perhaps their next step is to clearly describe to the public how they plan on taking over the water/sewer operations of the Conway Village Fire District by addressing the still unanswered question poised to them on that matter by yours truly? Having their position known before the voters of the district vote to dissolve would be highly beneficial.

Mark Hounsell

Conway