By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Dawn Handrahan, left, and Lynn Lizotte point out water that has formed a large pool in front of Handrahan’s house on Cove Street. Handrahan and Lizottte recently spoke to selectmen about water drainage problems in their neighborhood. (The Goffstown News/Rod Hansen)

Frustrated with the condition of their neighborhood, residents of Cove Street voiced their complaints at the Goffstown selectmen’s meeting on Monday, Aug. 21.

The answer they got from town officials brought little comfort.

“We understand your difficulties, but, as a municipality, there’s very little we can do about your situation,” said Selectman Chairman Barbara Griffin.

Griffin’s comments followed a 20-minute discussion with town health inspector Ed Nevue and Cove Street residents Lynn Lizotte and Dawn Handrahan, it which Lizotte and Handrahan described problems with drainage and septic systems in their area.

Water runs in a stream along Cove Street, they said, pooling up in residents’ yards and in a large pothole in the middle of the roadway.

A strong smell hangs in the air, which Nevue described as a “septic scent.”

Lizotte and Handrahan had appeared before selectmen the previous week to discuss conditions in their neighborhood, which they said had been growing worse following the Mother’s Day floods.

Water appeared in the roadway about a week after those floods, which made the neighbors think it may have been caused by something other than heavy rain, Lizotte said.

After the water appeared, Lizotte sent samples from the roadway, her own backyard and her well to a private environmental services company for testing. Results on all three samples came back with high counts of E. coli.

Nevue studied the conditions on Cove Street since the last selectmen’s meeting, and said the E. coli counts of water along the roadway were not unusually high.

“Those E. coli counts are consistent with what you’d find in water that flows along a road. So that’s not alarming,” Nevue told selectmen.

However, Nevue’s next comments raised deeper concerns about the neighborhood.

“What is alarming is the tight area of wells among these houses,” Nevue said.

With an extremely high water table beneath Cove Street and neighboring Bay Street, Nevue said septic systems may be under water and therefore not working properly.

“Bay Street is completely saturated,” Nevue said. “The water table is probably a couple inches below the ground. I would encourage people to have their water tested, and not to drink it,” he said.

Further, he said the distance between septic systems and dug wells in the area is unacceptable. While there is supposed to be a 75-foot distance between septic systems and wells, Nevue said many properties in the area do not maintain that space.

Griffin said the spacing may be due to the homes’ original intent as seasonal homes.

“These houses used to be cottages that people stayed at during the summer,” Griffin said. “It wasn’t until later that they became full-time residences.”

Regarding the flooding on Cove Street, Nevue said it most likely came from groundwater flowing down the hill and pooling up at the the bottom.

“The ground is saturated and water is coming down the hill. Most of it will wind up at 55 Cove,” Nevue said.

“I live at 55 Cove,” Handrahan said.

Nevue said he was currently testing water in the neighborhood that might be due to a failed residential septic system, and there would be other testing of water in the area.

However, he offered little solution to the neighbors’ long-term problem.

“I feel for you, but there’s very little I can do,” Nevue told Lizotte and Handrahan.

Griffin’s comments on the situation reflected similar sentiment.

“As a municipality, we don’t have the authority to adjudicate what the water flows should be,” Griffin said.

The board took no vote regarding Cove Street at their meeting Monday night.

Cove Street is located in an area on the banks of the Piscataquog River known as “The Parks,” where residents have long complained of poor road, water, drainage and sewer conditions.

Beginning in April of this year, town officials began considering a project to improve the area infrastructure.

Director of Public Works Carl Quiram told selectmen the project could cost as much as $10 million.

The situation worsened during the Mother’s Day floods, when some homes experienced 5 feet of water. Dozens of homes were evacuated following the floods, with much repair work still to be completed.