HOOKSETT, NH – Completing a process that has taken 63 years, local leaders officially opened the new Merrimack River Water Treatment Facility on Thursday.
The facility is the second operated by the Manchester Water Works, in addition to the Lake Massabesic Water Treatment Facility.
After a 1960 study, which established the need for a second facility, the process of planning the new facility partly began in 1985 and began in earnest in 2015, with construction beginning in 2020.
The new facility can process 7 million gallons of water per day in addition to the 50 million gallons per day at Lake Massabesic. It is also the first ever radial well built at a water treatment facility in New Hampshire and utilizes several new technologies such as the Greensandplus material.
While Thursday’s event officially kicked off the new facility, it had been running July 4 and was able to help pump needed water into the West Side, keeping water pressure steady as workers discovered and fixed the exact source of a leaking pipe in the Merrimack River near Arms Park in September.
In addition to helping serve Manchester’s water needs, the facility will also aid nearby towns, including some impacted by the need for new sources of clean drinking water after the impacts of PFAS in local drinking supplies
“As we all know, unfortunately, clean water continues to be a stressor across many New Hampshire communities, so I am grateful to the Manchester Water Works as they continue to develop new ways we can provide clean drinking water to both our city and neighboring communities impacted by contaminated water,” said Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig. “It’s a tremendous feat that the Water Works have accomplished here, and I was glad to be a small part of it.”