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Residents, water committee raise concerns about Eversource herbicide spraying and town seeks low-salt designation for Route 3A
Summary
Members of Bow’s water-protection groups told the select board they were given short notice of an Eversource herbicide application planned for transmission right-of-way and asked the town to publicize the notice; the board also voted to start a formal process with NHDOT to pursue a ‘low-salt roadway’ designation for a one-mile stretch of Route 3A near town wellheads after staff reported roughly 48 tons of salt were applied there last year.
Members of Bow’s water-protection groups told the Select Board they were concerned about imminent herbicide spraying by Eversource and about salt applied on Route 3A in a wellhead-protection area.
Tom O'Bapton, who identified himself as representing the town’s drinking-water protection committee, said the town received a June 26 letter from Eversource announcing plans to apply herbicides across transmission right-of-way with an expected start date of Aug. 17. "We thought that was very, very short notice," O'Bapton said, asking the board to help make residents aware and to request detail from Eversource about chemicals, quantities and potential impacts.
Cynthia Clemens, also representing water-protection interests, asked whether Eversource is required to notify individual well owners; town staff read the statutory notification procedure in the record and said the formal public notice will appear in the designated newspapers. The water committee and conservation commission asked that the town post Eversource’s notice on the town Facebook page and explicitly direct residents to Eversource for technical questions.
Separately, town staff summarized a N.H. Department of Transportation response about salt use on Route 3A, saying the town’s records show approximately 48 tons of salt were applied on a one-mile segment last year inside the wellhead-protection area. A board member moved to start the formal process to engage DOT about declaring that stretch a low-salt roadway (an MOU and other steps); the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. Board members said this process will include working with the police chief and DOT to refine operational details.
What happens next: the town manager was authorized to request cost and procedural details from Eversource, post the public notice and work with DOT to start the low-salt roadway process. The board asked that staff return with cost estimates and any required memoranda of understanding.
