SUNAPEE — State and local officials will be keeping a close eye on Lake Sunapee this week following two hazardous materials spills on the waterbody Saturday.
“Both are contained; they don’t pose any harm to the public,” Sunapee Fire Department Lt. Tim White said in a Monday phone interview. “They’re pretty well under control.”
Around 5 p.m., firefighters from Sunapee and Newbury, N.H., and the New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol, responded to a report of a sunken boat near Georges Mills Harbor and Lake Avenue, White said. At the scene, they found the small racing boat’s three passengers on the shoreline and the boat nearby.
None of the boat’s three occupants were injured, White said. He estimated 5 gallons of oil and gas from the boat spilled into the lake.
A little over an hour later — while crews were responding to the scene at Georges Mills — the department got a call about a “sheen” created by an unknown substance in Sunapee Harbor. Firefighters from Sunapee, Newbury, N.H., and New London responded to the call and tried to figure out where the sheen was coming from.
“The harbor was never closed down. It was open for people to use,” White said. “We didn’t restrict anything.”
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services officials also responded and are in the process of testing the substance to figure out what it is.
“The challenge is there are so many boats that are coming in and out of that boat ramp —and so many that are docked — you can have one boat that has a small amount of oil or grease and that disperses over the surface of the water,” Elizabeth Harper, executive director of the Lake Sunapee Protective Association, said in a phone interview.
At both spills, officials put out absorbent pads and containment booms to isolate and clean up the substances.
Harper was pleased with the response to both spills.
“I do feel confident they were cleaned up and handled well,” she said. “The amounts were small and the response time was very quick.”
Multiple substance spills have been reported at Lake Sunapee in the last year, including an oil spill last October and an “unknown substance” in June, both in Sunapee Harbor.
“More people are noticing and reporting these,” Harper said. “I don’t know if we’re necessarily seeing more, but we’re getting more of these reported.”
White concurred. He encouraged anyone who notices any unusual substances on the lake to contact officials.
“Just be aware of the lake,” he said. “If you do see anything out of the ordinary, call 911. Rather be safe than sorry when it comes to spills and lake health.”
