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Council authorizes city manager to send letter supporting remediation at contaminated Gilford property
Summary
The council authorized the city manager to send a letter supporting remediation at 1467 Lake Shore Road (Gilford), a NH DES‑identified LUST site whose contamination affects Black Brook and downstream Paugus Bay; Superintendent Ben Crawford said monitoring wells show levels about 90 times higher than standards.
The Laconia City Council on Feb. 23 authorized City Manager Kirk Beattie to send a letter, on behalf of the mayor and council, supporting soil and groundwater remediation at 1467 Lake Shore Road in Gilford.
The property has been identified by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services as a leaking underground storage tank (LUST) site and contains petroleum‑related contamination in soil and groundwater near Black Brook, which drains to Paugus Bay — a source of Laconia’s drinking water. The Water Board and its superintendent asked the council to back a remediation effort and to send the attached letter to NH DES and other affected state and local agencies.
Superintendent Ben Crawford reported the site has eight monitoring wells and, while contamination levels have decreased over time, “the levels are still 90 times over what they should be,” according to the agenda record. NH DES indicated it will not participate in the cost of a failing culvert that must be replaced before remediation can proceed; the culvert sits on private property and the owner has not yet proposed a plan for replacement. Funding for the culvert replacement is listed as unknown in the record; possible funders suggested include the property owner (WJK Realty), NH DES and the Town of Gilford.
Council members expressed concern and supported a proactive approach. The motion to authorize the city manager to send the letter of support passed unanimously (5‑0). The agenda noted that there is no expected fiscal impact to the city or the Water Department for the remediation itself; remediation costs would be handled through the NH Petroleum Reimbursement Fund, though culvert repair costs remain unresolved.
The Water Board has drafted the letter and asked the city to be the sender in order to strengthen interagency coordination.
