Planning Board backs stronger water-supply standards to improve fire protection and insurance rating

The Moultonborough Planning Board signaled support for tightening subdivision regulations on water supply after Fire Chief David Bengtson and Code Enforcement Officer Austin Wakefield described practical failures of some existing water sources and presented figures for cistern and pond capacity.

Chief Bengtson and Mr. Wakefield told the board that the town’s Insurance Services Office Public Protection Class is 9/10, noting that "Moultonborough is rated 9/10 (1 is best), largely because it has no pressurized municipal water system, and has not been reassessed in over twenty years." They said access is the primary constraint the town can control and recommended clearer, enforceable standards to let applicants plan for compliant water supplies in advance.

The presenters gave specific technical guidance on supply sizes and flow requirements. As the staff explained, "An 8B rating requires 200 gallons per minute for 20 minutes; a Class 8 rating requires 250 gallons per minute for two hours, which is the source of the 30,000 gallon figure." Board members and staff discussed examples of accepted supplies that proved unusable in practice — a beach access at Crosswinds, an undersized pond on Moultonborough Neck Road, and a drained pond off Blake Lane — and a recent cottage fire that used an estimated 45,000 gallons with apparatus unable to get within 200 feet.

The Board asked staff and the fire department to return with marked-up language to be incorporated into the Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Regulations and Site Plan Regulations. Follow-up tasks assigned included a five-mile map from fire stations, updating the dry-hydrant inventory, and Chief Bengtson contacting the Insurance Services Office for a re-survey before winter. Members emphasized the objective is to secure the right fire-safety infrastructure rather than pursue the rating for its own sake.