DES reports 712 point-of-entry systems installed; groundwater monitoring ongoing for nearly 1,000 wells

New Hampshire DES reported on July 11 that installation of point-of-entry treatment (POET) systems and municipal water connections is well underway in the Saint-Gobain consent-decree area, and that groundwater monitoring of private wells is continuing. DES project manager Andy Fuller told the commission that “there have been approximately 831 properties identified under term sheet attachments for alternate water … and as of the beginning of this month, there's been approximately 712 of those systems have been installed.” Fuller said contractors are performing periodic maintenance on installed systems and that DES is reviewing an annual summary report submitted in May that documents installations and maintenance through March 2025. Fuller said Saint-Gobain and its contractors completed water main construction and connections in several towns and specific neighborhoods; he said work in one area (Hillcrest Road in Litchfield) is considered complete and that bottled water deliveries were discontinued for those properties. On well sampling, Fuller described a groundwater management zone work plan that aims to collect approximately six samples from eligible properties by the end of 2026. He said monitoring began in late January 2025 and that “as of the July 10 yesterday, they have sampled approximately 980 properties that were eligible for monitoring.” Fuller said the program is sampling roughly 150–200 properties per month to meet work-plan requirements and that “since the start of this monitoring, there's been approximately 97 additional properties that have been identified exceeding … PFOA and offered bottled water.” DES described that some connections and interior meter installations remain in progress: “The water main extension and exteriors, exterior service line connections and interior water meter installation work has been completed at 25 of 26 properties” in one neighborhood, and “exterior service lines and water meters are installed at 62 of 70 properties” in others. On POET operation and testing, DES said each installed system must be tested at least annually; Fuller said some systems are tested twice a year depending on influent concentrations and that DES will review the May report to analyze multi-sample trends. When a commissioner asked how often carbon vessels are replaced, Fuller said there is a scheduled replacement interval but he could not recall whether the guidance was three or five years; he also confirmed that installations use two-vessel lead–lag carbon systems. Discussion vs. decision: these details were reported as compliance and progress updates under the consent-decree implementation; no new policy decisions were made in the meeting. Ending: DES said it expects updated lists of remedial remedies in July and will continue to receive bimonthly status reports on well sampling and POET maintenance.