Bow Select Board approves letters, grant applications and commitments to advance Concord and Hooksett water connections

The Bow Select Board used a May 27 working session to advance two intermunicipal water projects: a potential wholesale connection to Concord supplying Bow Junction and a south‑side extension tied to Hooksett. The board voted unanimously to send a formal request to the city of Concord asking it to consider providing wholesale water to Bow Junction consistent with Concord’s August 2024 source development charge (SDC) study. The board also authorized updating and submitting a State Revolving Fund (SRF) pre‑application to keep the project in the funding queue.

Consultants told the board the Concord SDC study, funded by the Drinking Water Trust Fund, outlined two possible charges: an SDC for system expansion and a possible separate buy‑in fee for use of existing Concord infrastructure. Consultants said the likely SDC in 2027 would be about $7.57 per gallon per day (gpd) of capacity requested; consultants presented illustrative scenarios with low‑end SDC costs in the low‑hundreds of thousands and high‑end estimates — if a buy‑in fee were assessed — approaching roughly $570,000 for a 60,000‑gpd request. Presenters emphasized uncertainty about whether Concord would charge both components and said the SDC application to Bow would be a negotiation point.

Board members pressed for clarity about whether SDCs are based on daily demand or fire‑flow capacity; staff and the consultant said SDCs are typically tied to daily average demand while fire flows are a separate design parameter and would be clarified with Concord during negotiation.

On the town’s south side, the board discussed Hooksett Village’s work with a potential new customer, Niagara Water. Hooksett reported a Phase‑1 ask of 600,000 gpd (with a Phase‑2 request of another 600,000 gpd). Bow currently operates two well sources with a combined plant withdrawal limit of about 1.0 MGD; consultants said actual current use is low (on the order of 5–10% of capacity). After discussion about long‑term town needs, economic tradeoffs and whether to reserve capacity for Bow, the board voted to support Hooksett/Niagara’s near‑term request (the motion carried by voice vote). Separately, the board passed a motion expressing continued interest in partnering with Hooksett on regional water solutions regardless of Niagara’s outcome.

To support planning and to access low‑cost loans and grants, the board authorized staff to update and submit the SRF pre‑application due May 30; board members were clear the pre‑application is not binding — it places the project in the SRF queue and any loan acceptance would require a later formal town vote. The board also instructed staff to pursue a Drinking Water & Groundwater Trust Fund consolidation grant (one‑time $10,000) to fund study work such as an SDC evaluation or interconnection analysis; the board amended the motion to authorize town staff (David) to submit the grant application on behalf of the town.

Board members discussed other funding avenues, including Northern Border grants for economic studies tied to South Street and TIF district resources. Members repeatedly cautioned that existing economic studies are outdated (one cited from ~2012) and recommended updated economic analysis before committing long‑term revenue sharing or funding decisions.

The meeting record shows the following formal actions on the water topics: a unanimous vote to request Concord consider wholesale service to Bow Junction; a unanimous vote to submit an SRF pre‑application; a unanimous vote to support providing specific capacity for Hooksett/Niagara’s Phase‑1 request; and approval to apply for the $10,000 consolidation grant and to authorize staff to submit it. The board advanced engineering work by directing consultant DuBois & King to update costs and to proceed with short‑term deliverables to meet funding deadlines.

Next steps identified at the meeting included finalizing the SRF pre‑application before the May 30 deadline, negotiating with Concord on SDC and any buy‑in terms, updating capacity and demand estimates with DuBois & King, pursuing the $10,000 consolidation grant, and following up with Hooksett and potential developers about site and funding responsibilities. Staff advised that any funded SRF offer would require a later formal vote before the town accepted loan funds.