By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer

Although a 50-cent surcharge will be showing up on Hooksett sewer bills, the surcharge should be dropped by next year thanks to a deal the Hooksett Sewer Commission made with Manchester Sand and Gravel.

“It’s a good deal,” said Hooksett Town Administrator Moni Sharma. “It really is a win-win situation.” The sewer commission is trading 160 sewer hookups to Manchester Sand and Gravel in exchange for 10 acres of land off of Lehoux Drive to be used as a composting facility. The cost of the hookups equals about $320,000.

The commission had tried to acquire land for a composting operation next to its current facility behind the Memorial School, but voters shot down the land transfer. The commission used to dump its sewage on farm land in Pembroke, but increased regulations made it impossible to continue that practice.

Because voters decided not to OK the land transfer between the school district and the town, the commission had to truck all sewage out of town to a Rochester landfill.

This operation resulted in the 50-cent charge on recently mailed sewer bills. The charge had been $2.70 per 1,000 gallons of sewage; this went up to $3.20 with the surcharge. Commission Chairman Sid Baines said the charge will likely be halted when the composting begins next year.

Baines said they will begin building the covered compost facility next April. Sewage will be turned into fertilizer in a process that uses wood chips and brush to break the sewage down. The $1.1 million facility will be funded through money the commission has already set aside.

Baines said residents will be able to pick up some fertilizer for free, while some fertilizer can be sold to out-of-town buyers. Although the operation won’t be responsible for bringing in too much money, Baines said people should be pleased to see the 50-cent charge dropped.