Location
Cisco Brewers
Thursday, January 19, 2023
8:30 AM – 2:00 PM, Lunch Included
Cisco Brewers, 35 Corporate Drive, Portsmouth, NH
2 TCHs
Registration is through New England Water Works only. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
AGENDA
8:30 AM Registration, Coffee and Pastries / Networking and Visit Exhibitors
9:00 AM Introduction by Moderators – DONALD L. WARE, P.E., Chief Operating Officer, Pennichuck Water Works Inc., Nashua, NH
ROBERT WILLIAMSON, P.E., Senior Project Manager, Wright-Pierce, Portland, ME
9:10 AM New Hampshire Drinking Water Legislation Update
BOYD SMITH, President and CEO, New Hampshire Water Works Association, Concord, NH
A discussion of the drinking water legislation that passed during New Hampshire’s 2022 legislative session and
highlights of pending legislation for 2023.
9:30 AM “Merrimack River Becomes the Primary Source of Water Supply for Pennichuck Water Works”
JOHN BOISVERT, P.E., Director of Engineering Services, Pennichuck Water Works, ASHLEY PIPER, Environmental
Scientist, Pennichuck Water Works, Inc., Nashua, NH, and Dr. THOMAS P. BALLESTERO, Ph.D., P.E. Streamworks,
LLC, Madbury, NH
Pennichuck Water provides drinking water derived from the Merrimack River to over 100,000 New Hampshire
residents. In 2017, Pennichuck began the process of planning and design for a new deep-water raw water intake
in the Merrimack River. The purpose was to create a separate and fully redundant source supply in addition to
Pennichuck Brook. This discussion will describe the infrastructure improvements required to achieve source
redundancy, the hydrologic assessment that supported Pennichuck’s commitment to the Merrimack River as a
primary source of supply, and the consideration of potential upstream contamination risk posed by an already
developed watershed.
10:00 AM “PFAS Treatment in New England: A Regional Survey”
BENJAMIN POWERS, Staff Professional II, and KIRSTEN RYAN, P.E., Project Professional, Kleinfelder, Boston, MA
As PFAS regulations are being rolled out across New England, many water providers have been required or
have chosen to install treatment systems. With UCMR5 and EPA’s new health advisories, even more systems are
considering next steps. A survey of community water system managers was conducted to summarize types of
PFAS treatment, capital and operation costs, funding options and known or suspected contamination sources. This
comparison will highlight success factors as well as lessons learned from a utility perspective.
10:30 AM “Customer Communications – Key to Community Support”
BOYD SMITH, President and CEO, New Hampshire Water Works Association, Concord, NH, IAN ROHRBACHER,
Superintendent, City of Rochester, Rochester, NH, and ALICIA DUFRESNE, Supervisor of Corporate Communications,
Pennichuck Water Works, Inc., Nashua, NH
A one-hour roundtable presentation. Water system operators are impacted by fast-spreading news regarding
system upsets and emerging contaminants, especially in an age of social media amplification. In addition, our
“hidden infrastructure” perception requires effective communication to inform and engage the public about
operations, rate changes, worker recruitment and retention, and policy leadership. This presentation covers the
importance of effective communications, how Rochester makes their CCR a more effective communications tool,
and Pennichuck Corporation’s approach to communicating across their wide range of systems.
11:30 AM Questions and Answers — All Presenters
11:40 AM Speed Networking in the Exhibit Area
12:00 PM Social Hour and Continued Networking
12:30 PM Luncheon, Announcements, Presentations, and Business Meeting
Jim Decelles, NEWWA President, and Chris Albert, NHWWA Chairman of the Board
2:00 PM Membership Meeting Adjourns
Registration is through New England Water Works only.