Stories

Residents in one western Maine town look to curb Poland Spring’s appetite for water

March 4, 2023

In the small Maine town of Denmark, near the New Hampshire border, some residents are calling for more accountability from bottled water giant Poland Spring. The company extracts water from land it owns in Denmark and then sells it to consumers. The town isn’t compensated for what is withdrawn. And climate change is fueling concerns…

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3M says it will stop producing PFAS chemicals that have contaminated communities across New Hampshire

December 20, 2022

The company 3M, which manufactures everything from Post-It notes to dental implants, has announced it will stop making PFAS — a group of man-made chemicals linked to a variety of health issues. The move comes as federal regulators are preparing to place limits on the chemicals in drinking water. 3M cited that plan as a factor in…

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Connecticut agriculture chief says drought is hitting farmers’ pocketbooks

August 16, 2022

For many Connecticut residents, the impacts of an ongoing drought extend only as far as brown lawns or wilting flowers in a garden bed. But weeks of dry weather are having a more serious impact on the state’s agriculture industry, forcing farmers to buy extra water and recalibrate their plans for harvest. “Connecticut dairy men…

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Conservationists say New England’s drought is another wakeup call about climate change

August 12, 2022

Alicea Charamut went for a hike last weekend to a place where she thought her dog would have a chance to cool off with a swim. Devil’s Hopyard State Park, in East Haddam, Connecticut, has a big waterfall. But on this day, the water was barely flowing and Charamut’s dog found no relief. “There was…

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Corrie Folson-O'Keefe of Audubon Connecticut (right) and Suzanne Paton (left) of the U.S. Fish and Wildfire Service trudge through the mud in the Great Meadows Marsh in Stratford, Conn. The marsh is being regraded by a company specializing in marsh restoration as the federal government works with the Audubon Society to increase the marsh's resiliency.

New England once took salt marshes for granted. But the tides are changing

March 28, 2022

Plunked on a southern New England shoreline is an understated and misunderstood ecosystem: Great Meadows Marsh in Stratford, Conn. For decades, that site was treated as an ugly nuisance, but it’s the focus of a $4 million restoration project aiming to make the coast more resilient to climate change. Rick Potvin, manager of the Stewart…

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A photo of lead pipes.

Feds roll out plan seeking to replace every lead pipe in New England

March 16, 2022

The six New England states will soon receive more than $200 million from the federal government to replace lead pipes in the region’s drinking water system. The allocation is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed by President Biden last year. The overall law targets $15 billion toward replacing every lead pipe in the country’s…

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Lawmakers consider $100 million fund for Maine farms affected by PFAS. But is it enough?

March 15, 2022

Maine lawmakers heard hours of testimony this week in support of a proposal to create a $100 million fund to help the growing number of Maine farms that are discovering so-called “forever chemicals” in their water or on their land. But some advocates are warning that massive sum of money still may not be enough.…

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A salt story: New research shows how salt can damage New Hampshire lakes

February 22, 2022

Lakes across the world are getting saltier. New Hampshire is no exception. In New Hampshire, road de-icing salt is the main culprit – that’s the salt we sprinkle on highways in the winter. And climate change is exacerbating salinization – more rain and snow in the winter, along with an increase in freeze and thaw…

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‘Beautiful jewels of the sea’: Scientists hope these teeny algae made of glass will help them protect New England lakes amid climate change

November 11, 2021

On a sunny day in August, environmental scientist Kellie Merrell scans the shoreline from a motorboat in the shallows on Lake Fairlee. There are lots of cottages. White pine trees tower over the water, reaching out from a few rocky points. Merrell is here with a team of scientists from the state to do a…

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As GE splits, PCB cleanup deal for Housatonic River still ‘binding’

November 10, 2021

General Electric announced Tuesday it’s reorganizing into three companies, two of which it plans to spin off. The company isn’t saying yet which of its new companies will keep its commitment to clean up the Housatonic River. About 20 years ago, GE signed a court-ordered agreement to remove PCBs from the river, and from the…

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