Your Voice: Landfill would be a disaster

Dear Mr. Gray:

I had recently read in (a newspaper) that the (Milton) Board of Selectmen have presented three petitions to the Planning Board for their review and approval. I urge the Board of Selectmen to reconsider their decision as I want to explain to the board of selectmen, town departments and the people of Milton about the important water aquifer that sits at the base of Laskey's Corner.

When I was elected public works director for the town we were having problems with contaminated water running out of the existing landfill and concerns from the residences living around Milton Three Ponds. In 1995 a company was operating an illegal deposal dumping site in a gravel pit at Laskey's Corner near Exit 18, that the Town shut down immediately.
During this time, as a town official, I had the opportunity of working with representatives from U.S. Geologist Service out of Concord and the UNH conservation and resources departments regarding water problems and resources in Milton and also to address and fix the runoff problem going into the Milton Three Ponds. At the same time the Milton Water Commissioners were looking for other water resources in and around Milton to relieve the over-burdened well pump system and to meet compliance of regulations with the State of New Hampshire Water Protection Department.

I spent several days riding and testing many areas around Milton and Milton Mills with these representatives from U.S. Geologist Services, inspecting and collecting soil samples to confirm water type and possible resource areas. These geologist not only found three major water pockets referred as aquifers ranging in diameter from three acres up to seven acres of water deposits and educating the movements of centuries of glacier depositing soils identifying water deposits. When these water resources were discovered it was conveyed to the water commissioners, to where they investigated running water lines from the existing pump station to Laskey's Corner, but were deterred by the overall cost of a project of this magnitude.
Former Selectwoman Joan Tasker Ball, at the time offered the property between Saint James and Micah Terrace to the water commissioners. The Water District approved the purchase and now that is where the existing second pump station sits today.
The geologist found these three pockets, also known as (aquifers), of water in three designated areas within the Town of Milton with the first pocket located at the face of Teneriffe Mountain located on UNH property about three to four acres in diameter. The second pocket in around the same size is where the second Water District pump station sits and the third major pocket of water ranges between five to seven acres sits directly at the base of Laskey's Corner around this former gravel pit off White Mountain Highway, towards the old farm house that sits to the left eading north towards Applebee Road.

Selectmen: These are viable resources that can't be sold or disturbed for any amount of money to the highest bidder; no landfill or transfer station is allowed near any potential important water source including this large pocket of water at Laskey's Corner.
It would be injustice to the Town of Milton, its residents and to your oath of office to overlook this important information and natural resource that will always be there in pure form for future usage unless your board allows these petition to change the zoning ordinance to meet requirements to be overlooked by profit.
Although, I am not a resident of Milton now but was a longtime resident as well as former employee before leaving Milton, I have the responsibility and obligation to make this information known to the town officials before the town finds themselves in an awkward and unfortunate position. I spent many years overseeing and protecting the people of Milton and Milton Mills from many emergencies as I always appreciated the individual rewards, even if it was not always the popular outcome from incidents like this one.

Let's not allow anything happen to Milton water resources and keep it protected so maybe the Town could bottle and sell the water themselves for profit while protecting these areas for its future usage.

Thank you for your time, cooperation and consideration of this important decision.

- Michael Smith

Winter Garden, Fla.

Former Milton DPW director