If everything goes according to plan, the Class of 2010 will not be drinking the fishy-tasting water that currently flows from Hanover pipes every spring and fall.
Hanover Water Works, which supplies water to the town, is currently in the process of reviewing plans to install a water-filtration system, said Peter Kulbacki, General Manager of the Water Works and Director of Public Works.
Currently, Hanover has the only remaining unfiltered water system in the state.
Lebanon's water-filtering plant has existed since 1907. More recently, other neighboring towns such as Norwich, Vt., have been switching from unfiltered surface water systems to groundwater sources because of stricter governmental regulations.
In 1993, the Hanover Water Works received a waiver which exempted it from the state's water-filtration rule.
The municipality received the waiver because it meets certain federal water-quality standards set down by the Environmental Protection Agency, said Brian McMullen, district administrator of the Norwich Water Works.
However, Hanover's system, which some have deemed archaic, is only temporary.
"The system we have in place now is one that has bought us time to look at better technology," Kulbacki said.
Kulbacki predicted that Hanover will have a filtration system within the next five years.
Installing a filtration system will probably cost between $3.5 million and $4 million, but it is logistical hurdles, rather than financial ones, that stand in the way of installing a filtration system, Kulbacki said.
The Hanover Water Works, which is partly privately owned, would pay for the installation with a private loan. To pay back the loan, the facility would raise rates by about $100 per year.
Although Hanover residents might not necessarily object to higher water bills if it meant better-tasting water, the Hanover Water Works would have to petition the state for permission to raise rates, Kulbacki said.
"Getting permission from the state could turn into a really lengthy and complicated process," he said.
Currently, customers buy water from the Hanover Water Works at the state-regulated rates of $16.28 per 1,000 cubic feet plus a monthly $10 flat rate, said Terry Jillson of the Hanover Water Works.
This is significantly cheaper than the $28.03-per-1,000 cubic feet rate and $19.50 monthly base charge that Lebanon residents pay, said Tammy Roberts of the Lebanon Water Works.
This discrepancy is due to the added expense of installing and maintaining a filtration system, said Kevin Kingston, utility operations group leader of the Lebanon Water Works.
Alternatively, the town could buy the Hanover Water Works and have town residents vote on whether or not to install a filtration system.
Like 38 percent of the state population, Hanover residents get their water from surface sources such as lakes, ponds and reservoirs. Because these above-ground sources are more exposed to their surroundings, they are more susceptible to contaminants such as bacteria and chemical run-off than below-ground sources, explained Brian McMullen, district administrator of the Norwich Water Works.
But installing a filtration system would only partly eliminate the contaminants that cause the unpleasant smell and taste, Kulbacki said.
Residue and build-up on water pipes is partly responsible for the fishy nature of the water. Hanover's water distribution system is well over 100 years old -- and that needs to be upgraded at least as much as the town's lack of water filtration.
Nevertheless, Kulbacki said that installing a filtration system would be "a really good start."
Because of the considerable governmental and financial maneuvering that would be necessary to put a filtration system in place, the only way that a new one would be installed sooner is if the Hanover Water Works were to dramatically violate the EPA's water-quality standards.
Hanover's current system has been mostly successful in meeting EPA standards.
The increasingly stringent standards, which include specifications about maximum acceptable contaminant levels, are outlined in amendments to the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act.
To many Hanover residents, however, meeting these minimum standards is not enough. The Hanover Water Works receives regular complaints about "aesthetic issues" like water discoloration and taste, Kulbacki said.
Local residents might not prefer a filtered surface water system over a groundwater system, but Kulbacki stressed the merits of the former.
In addition to providing better-tasting water, a filtration system would mean that the Hanover Water Works will be better equipped to deal with droughts such as the one that has hit the Upper Valley in recent months. Surface water supplies are more quickly replenished than groundwater systems.
"What with global warming and the erratic effects of El Nio, it is anybody's guess whether we'll have to face these same kind of water-availability issues again in the near future," Kulbacki said.
