The Midpoint Well Site is not included in this approval.

During the testing phase it was discovered the uranium levels in the water were too high to be economically feasible to treat.

HAWC still has the option to renew its request for Midpoint. We will be watching.

A word to the wise - Radon and uranium is present in many of New Hampshire's wells, especially in this area. Both can and do cause cancer. Radon is a known cause of lung cancer. Uranium can cause stomach and lower track cancers.  Have your water tested for radon and please consider mitigation if the levels are to high.

For uranium, request a Gross Alpha test. If the levels are to high, a reverse osmosis water filtration system is required to remove it. Small, single faucet models can be had for around $200.

HAWC does not treat their water for radon. If you are a HAWC costumer, it is strongly recommended you have your water tested also.

From the US Department of Environmental Protection - "Radon: The Health Hazard with a Simple Solution
Radon is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell or taste. Its presence in your home can pose a danger to your family's health. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America and claims about 20,000 lives annually."

Radon is the result of radioactive decay of uranium to radium and then to radon. Because of its high atomic number, it is the heaviest of all gases. Because of its molecular structure, it is easily absorbed by water, and just as easily given up. If you high concentrations of radon in your water, and do not have a water radon mitigation system, the most common way radon is released is in the shower. Turning on the bathroom fan is not enough. You will have breathed it in before it gets to the fan.

It also naturally raises to the surface, and if your foundation is not sealed, or you do not have have a foundation radon mitigation system, it will enter your home, where again you will breath it in.

Both your water and air can be easily tested for radon. Just look for radon testing in the yellow pages. Though no official limits has been set, levels at or above 4 pCi/L (picoCuries/liter) are reason for concern and you should start considering mitigation. As mentioned before, because no official limit is set, HAWC does not mitigate radon in its water. If you are a HAWC customer, testing is not expensive and should be considered.

Mitigation systems do cost money. However, so does cancer, and cancer is serious business. This web site strongly encourages you to test your water and air, and mitigate if the levels reported are not in your comfort level.

Why should you be concerned about this?  Try this simple experiment. Go to where your well water comes into your home.  There will be a switch that controls power to your well pump.  Turn it off and then go take a shower or flush the toilets a few times.  You will see that in short order the water stops.  Now imagine you cannot fix the problem by turning your well pump back on.  Then imagine living off of bottled water for perhaps months until someone, maybe, comes to your aid, or, you have to drill a new well, at your expense.  This has a reasonable chance of being your future. Take this from someone who has already experienced it.

HAWC wants new wells to address problems with its current capacity.  The wells HAWC want to drill will have far more capacity than what is needed to solve their current capacity problems.  Why do they want this future capacity?  At the informative session last May Harold Morse, president of HAWC, was asked this question. He declined to answer.  This is why you should be concerned, even worried.

We now know what the new capacity is for.  It's for Hampstead.  At the same informative session, Harold was asked if any of this new water was going out of Atkinson.  He said no.  Then, the day after the August Special Town Meeting where we voted on the new water petitions, HAWC announces it is planning to build a pipeline to connect the Atkinson and Hampstead systems together, funding it with a state funded, low interest, $1.2M loan.  So, the answer should have been yes.  HAWC also wants to include in its franchise most of Atkinson.  How do you feel about your well going dry by excessive pumping, and then having to buy it back by those doing the pumping?  How do you feel that in 2006, HAWC could not account for 33% of the water they pumped?

It's very easy to sit back and hope everything turns out OK.  This will not work.  You have to get involved. 

Finally, imagine how much your home will be worth with a dry well.