Littleton Board of Health Approves Two Septic Variances, Elects New Chair

LITTLETON -- May 10, 2023, Littleton Board of Health approves septic variances for two properties, reorganizes leadership, and advances private well regulations. The board voted unanimously, 5-0, at its May 10 meeting to grant local upgrade approvals for failed septic systems at 26 Hadwin Road and 61 Oak Hill Road, both requiring Presby-style leaching systems with poly barriers and groundwater offset reductions from four feet to three feet because of high seasonal groundwater tables; engineer Chris McKenzie of Dillis and Roy Civil Design Group noted the Oak Hill Road pump must lift effluent nearly 22 feet using a one-horsepower pump on a lot that drops 17 feet in roughly 65 horizontal feet. The board then reviewed draft model well regulations that would, if adopted, impose new annual or biennial water quality testing requirements on the town's estimated 150 to 200 private drinking water wells, add radon, gross alpha, and PFAS to the required testing panel, restrict geothermal wells to closed-loop systems only, and require water testing before any property sale, with Vice Chair Matt Wasson arguing that properties with failing water quality should be required to remediate before selling, not simply disclose. Following the May 6 town election that returned Gino Fradelloni to the board, members elected Dan Kane as chair, Wasson as vice chair, and Fradelloni as clerk.