Water project's first phase completed, celebrated in Plaistow

Sep. 11—PLAISTOW — The town celebrated its potable water connection to the Southern New Hampshire Regional Water Interconnection Project during a special event held at Methuen Construction in late August.

The project's first phase is now complete with Plaistow's hookup to the drinking water source.

State and local officials — including Gov. Chris Sununu and representatives of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services — gathered for the ceremony.

"The end goal was this," said State Sen. Chuck Morse.

Morse and Sununu championed the project at the state level.

"We tried before, but we could not get water to a community that was suffering from contamination," Morse said. "It's huge for Plaistow."

Sununu said the importance of allocating funds for a project of this scale has not been lost on him.

He said project leaders have worked cohesively with town officials to determine what is needed to serve the masses.

He praised the work done by Erin Holmes, a drinking water and groundwater trust fund administrator, and her NHDES team to see this project through.

"There is really no greater faith in government than when you turn on your faucet, you fill (a glass) with water and you hand it to your kid," Sununu said. "You are really trusting that the government got it right."

One million gallons of water will flow each day through the pipes from Manchester Water Works down to Plaistow. The next phase will bring three million gallons daily.

Plaistow resident and State Rep. Norman Major highlighted the foresight of the Plaistow Board of Selectmen to one day have drinking water available in town, and the measures taken over the last five decades to achieve it.

"We continued our vision to provide the whole town with potable water and a fire suppression system," Major said.

"We as a town developed and initiated what would have a major impact not then, but for generations later. We persevered to provide safe, potable water."