Council authorizes letter pressing state for remediation after officials report remaining contamination near Laconia water supply

LACONIA — The City Council authorized the city manager to send a letter of support to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and other officials to press for remediation of soil contamination at 1467 Lakeshore Road in Guilford, a site officials say has the potential to affect the city’s water supply.

"This isn't acceptable," said City Manager Kirk Biotti, urging broader awareness and intergovernmental attention to the former gas station site near the Walmart area. Councilors agreed the potential risk to Paugus Bay and the city’s water supply justified sending the letter and including additional state and federal copies.

Ben Crawford, superintendent of Laconia Water, briefed the council on testing and cleanup history. He said the state had allocated funds for remediation and that roughly $500,000 had been spent removing tanks and soil; DES had $1.5 million available for the site but had paused further spending until a culvert on private property is replaced. Crawford said monitoring wells show contamination levels have dropped significantly but remain "about 90 times what they should be" in parts of the ground and noted periodic flooding could mobilize contaminants into Black Brook and then Paugus Bay (SEG 1463-1516).

Councilors asked for more testing and suggested copying the governor's office and federal contacts on the letter. The motion to authorize the city manager to transmit a letter to DES and other agencies passed unanimously (5-0). Planning and water officials said they would continue to press the property owner to replace the culvert and to coordinate further testing and monitoring schedules.

The council’s vote authorizes administrative action to coordinate with Guilford officials, state agencies and other stakeholders; the resolution does not itself pay for remediation but seeks to accelerate oversight and remediation steps.