Union Leader
By Damien Fisher
August 27, 2020

The Cold Stone Springs project, a $12 million collaboration between neighboring towns of Jaffrey and Peterborough, is getting a boost thanks to $1 million from the Northern Border Regional Commission.

The two towns are developing the 500-acre Cold Stone Springs property, which is in Jaffrey and Sharon. The project will mean a new water source for Jaffrey and Peterborough, which is needed for residents and businesses, according to Jaffrey Town Manager Jon Fredericks.

“Jaffrey’s search for an alternate water source is decades in the making,” Fredericks told the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services earlier this month.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen went to Peterborough to discuss the project with town leaders, and to discuss the recent $1 million in funding from the Northern Border Regional Commission.

“As Jaffrey and Peterborough town officials highlighted in our conversation this morning, these federal funds will be put to good use and help move the Cold Stone project along, expanding reliable access to clean drinking water for local residents and businesses,” Shaheen said in a statement.

Shaheen authored the legislation to add Cheshire County in the Northern Border Regional Commission, making the $1 million in funding possible for the project.

Residents in both towns approved the funding during the annual town meetings, with Jaffrey residents approving more than $4 million in spending, and Peterborough residents approving $8 million.

The project will construct 4,370 linear feet of water main to connect three wells, a water treatment facility and water distribution system, and a paved access road. This project addresses the need to accommodate an expected growth of average daily demands through 2040, according to the NBRC statement on the funding.

Fredericks said that Millipore Sigma, a worldwide biotech company with a location in Jaffrey, is supporting the project by paying the difference between a 20-year and 10-year note on more than $3 million loans the town is taking out, working out to a $1.16 million contribution over the life of the note.

The Cold Stone Spring site includes three wells that will be developed along with the water treatment plant. The towns will also put down new water lines.