{"id":284038,"date":"2025-11-10T22:04:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T22:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/284038\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T22:04:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T22:04:19","slug":"drought-dries-up-some-private-wells-in-new-hampshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/284038\/","title":{"rendered":"Drought dries up some private wells in New Hampshire"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis is the worst year ever,\u201d said Lamontagne, a 71-year-old retiree, one of thousands who rely on a backyard well for water<\/a>. Nearly half of the state\u2019s residents get their water from a private well, according to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.<\/p>\n

This past summer was the driest the state has seen<\/a> since it started collecting data in 1895. The drought has decimated certain crops<\/a>, sparked higher-than-usual wildfire activity, and led dozens of communities to impose water restrictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

State officials said they have received reports of more than 200 wells going dry<\/a> around the state since July. But reporting is voluntary, which means many more residents could be dealing with water issues the state doesn\u2019t know about. <\/p>\n

Neighboring states have also been impacted by drought. <\/p>\n

About 500,000 residents in Massachusetts rely on private wells for drinking water, according to an estimate published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology<\/a>. So far, the drought has not affected private wells in Massachusetts as badly as it has those in New Hampshire. In the past three months, a voluntary reporting portal<\/a> only received one report of a low or dry well in Franklin County in Western Massachusetts, according to state officials. <\/p>\n

Officials in Vermont<\/a> and Maine<\/a> have also warned residents about the likelihood of their private wells going dry.<\/p>\n

When a private well runs dry, it can be a major disruption to basic, everyday life. Faucets don\u2019t work, leaving residents without drinking water; toilets won\u2019t flush; and showering, washing the dishes, or doing the laundry becomes impossible. The forecast shows little sign of relief, with indications the drought could drag on into next year. <\/p>\n

While New Hampshire state officials said recent rain has decreased wildfire risk, it didn\u2019t replenish surface waters or aquifers.<\/p>\n

Lisa Bechok, the health officer and welfare overseer for the town of Pittsburg, N.H., \u2014 the northernmost town in New Hampshire<\/a> \u2014 said she\u2019s received several calls about dry wells in the past few months. That\u2019s left some people weighing how long to hold out hope for rain or whether to make the expensive investment in a new well. <\/p>\n

While dug wells are less expensive than drilled wells, they\u2019re more susceptible to drought conditions. Drilled wells have a much more consistent water supply because they are deeper, according to Bechok. But, she said, drilling a well is not an option for everyone. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in a very rural area, and a lot of people don\u2019t have the means,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Lamontagne is on a fixed income and said she can\u2019t afford to pay for a drilled well<\/a>, after hearing neighbors quote prices ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 to drill hundreds of feet into the bedrock.<\/p>\n

Instead, over the past three months, she\u2019s been taking measures to adapt to her well\u2019s extremely limited capacity, learning that there\u2019s just enough water for a frigid, one-minute shower each morning and to flush the toilet a few times a day.<\/p>\n

To adapt, she said she lugs around seven-gallon jugs wherever she goes, refilling them with water at a neighbor\u2019s or her son\u2019s house. She uses that water for cooking and washing up in the morning, and she keeps her fridge stocked with bottled water. For laundry, she alternates between a laundromat and a friend\u2019s house. She\u2019s started cleaning her floors with premoistened wipes and eating off paper plates to avoid doing dishes.<\/p>\n

In Pittsburg, Bechok said, the public water supply<\/a> is only available in the middle of the town. Anyone living beyond that area depends on well water. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very tough because you need water to wash your dishes, to get a shower, to flush your toilet,\u201d she said. \u201cIt impacts every aspect of someone\u2019s daily life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The northernmost portion of New Hampshire has reported the highest number of wells going dry, according to data from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing the extreme north right now is in the worst place,\u201d said Commissioner Robert R. Scott during a recent meeting of New Hampshire\u2019s Executive Council. Drought conditions are expected to improve starting in the southern part of the state first, and then moving north, he said. <\/p>\n

The communities reporting the most dried-out wells include Colebrook (nine), Stewartstown (seven), Lyman (six), Conway (six), Goffstown (six), and Pittsburg (five), according to state data. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the numbers in the North Country<\/a> are due to the severity and duration of this event,\u201d said Ted Diers, assistant water division director at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.<\/p>\n

In Columbia, Lamontagne\u2019s daughter-in-law, Jessica Frizzell, 37, faced the same predicament: At the end of August, her dug well went dry. <\/p>\n

With two children at home, Frizzell\u2019s family eventually decided to take out a loan and pay $20,000 to install a drilled well. <\/p>\n

That was after making do with a dried-out well for two months, she said. Every other day, Frizzell\u2019s father delivered 250 gallons of water from a local spring into their well to keep the water running in the house, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t think this was ever going to happen,\u201d said Frizzell, a stay-at-home mom and Columbia native. <\/p>\n

But even for those willing to pay, Frizzell said she\u2019s heard from some neighbors facing waitlists for a drilled well 100 people long. And, she said, if the drilling companies can\u2019t reach them before the ground freezes, they\u2019ll have to wait until it thaws in the spring, which could leave them without water for months on end. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never seen it like this,\u201d Frizzell said. <\/p>\n

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @amanda_gokee<\/a>.<\/p>\n