In 2018, a coalition of southern New Hampshire towns took a bold step to address a pressing water crisis. Faced with methyl-tert-butyl ether contamination in their wells, Atkinson, Derry, Hampstead, Plaistow, Salem, and Windham joined forces with the city of Manchester to share its water supply. This collaboration, funded in part by a 2003 lawsuit settlement, was a testament to regional cooperation and a potential blueprint for tackling a growing challenge: access to water and sewer infrastructure.
As New Hampshire grapples with a severe housing shortage, lawmakers and state officials are increasingly recognizing that water and sewer capacity is a critical, yet often overlooked, barrier to development. The latest update to the New Hampshire Zoning Atlas, unveiled by St. Anselm College in October, sheds light on this issue. The interactive tool reveals that a mere 12% of the state’s buildable land has access to either water or sewer services, with just 5.6% having access to both. This stark reality poses a significant hurdle for developers eager to address the state’s housing crisis.
“When we talk about density, we’re talking about how many units can you put on an acre,” said Preston Hunter, vice president of business development at PROCON, a Hooksett construction management firm. “And there’s really two major determining factors there. One is zoning, and the other is the availability of sewer and water.”
In southern New Hampshire, water access is particularly contentious. “A big issue we see is access to water,” said Brodie Deshaies, a legislative advocate at the New Hampshire Municipal Association. “There’s just not always enough groundwater to sustain more dense or larger developments that are being proposed.”
Experts point to alternative solutions, such as aerobic treatment systems and community septic systems, to enable development in areas with poor soil conditions or limited infrastructure. However, the most significant barrier often lies with the capacity of existing infrastructure. “Even when you look at land that can be developed that is on public water and sewer, you have to keep in mind capacity,” said Margaret Brynes, executive director of the New Hampshire Municipal Association. “It’s not unlimited just because you have a public system.”
The age and condition of infrastructure present another challenge. Many cities and towns struggle to maintain their systems, let alone upgrade them. “We have members that struggle to be able to afford the upkeep with the continued downward pressure that’s caused by inflation, increased cost of living, and property taxes that fund the majority of services and infrastructure in the state,” Deshaies said. Deterioration may force some towns to replace their pipes, while others may need to widen them to expand services—a costly prospect.
Meanwhile, towns drawing water from bodies of water face limits on how much they can draw and where they can expel wastewater, as regulated by the state Department of Environmental Services. Any solution is likely to require residents to approve a large municipal bond via a supermajority vote, a tough sell when property taxes are already high.
The updated Zoning Atlas aims to provide developers, municipalities, state officials, and lawmakers with a clearer understanding of where housing is possible and where more investment is needed. “It can help us understand more globally what types of investments might be needed and might be supported, especially for communities that clearly want more housing, but they’re constrained by the lack of infrastructure,” said Heather Shank, director of the Division of Planning and Community Development at the state Department of Business and Economic Affairs.
As legislators pass laws to prevent municipalities from imposing restrictions on housing, the Municipal Association argues that more must be done to expand water and sewer capacity. “What will end up happening, in some cases, is they will either place a moratorium on building to update their zoning … to try to address (that) overburdening of infrastructure, or they will have to stop hooking up people to water and sewer,” Deshaies said.
Lawmakers are introducing bills for the 2026 session aimed at expanding water and sewer access. Rep. Joe Sweeney, a Salem Republican, is proposing legislation to enable “special assessment districts” that could allow municipalities to pay for infrastructure improvements through special tax arrangements on developers. Rep. Chris Muns, a Hampton Democrat, has introduced a bill to levy a statewide tax on second homes to pay for housing funding. And Rep. Daniel Veilleux, an Amherst Democrat, is sponsoring legislation “encouraging municipalities with sewage systems to extend system service to neighboring communities.”
The NHMA opposed many of the zoning overhaul laws signed by Ayotte this year, arguing that municipalities should be allowed to move forward on housing intentionally. That should be ideally be done by creating a master plan for new developments and orienting any needed infrastructure upgrades to that plan, Des