Storms May Require Newburyport to Shut Off Water to Residents

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Alarmingly, the Newburyport water supply is one storm away from being shut down, according to information I learned from a meeting at the Water and Sewer Department. Other towns can have a boil water advisory when their water is contaminated, but Newburyport cannot. The Merrimack River has saline in it that cannot be treated, and an overtop of the City’s dams by the Merrimack into the City’s water supply would require drastic steps to protect the City’s equipment. That happened in 2024 on a sunny day. Luckily, it was brief and there was enough stored water to prevent an interruption in service. But do you even remember a storm in 2024? What if we had a severe nor’easter or, God forbid, a hurricane? The City has known about this risk since at least 2020 and has done nothing but study it. Mayor Reardon currently isn’t planning to start a multi-year construction of a pipeline to address the issue until 2030. And even that won’t fix the problem.

Newburyport water is supplied by three linked reservoirs: the Lower Artichoke Reservoir, which is closest to the Merrimack; the Upper Artichoke Reservoir, which is in the middle; and the Indian Hill Reservoir, which is furthest from the Merrimack and at the highest elevation. The pipeline to the water treatment plant runs from the Lower Artichoke Reservoir. The reservoirs are protected from contamination from the Merrimack by three dams. According to the Newburyport Climate Resiliency Plan from 2020, the Lower Artichoke dam, which is the dam that overtopped in 2024, is not high enough to prevent contamination by the Merrimack. And at a meeting at the Water and Sewer Department last week, I learned that the Upper Artichoke dam is also too low.

In spite of the significant risks to Newburyport’s water supply, city leaders have done little to remedy the situation. A platform was built in 2024 alongside the Lower Artichoke Dam for sandbags, but sandbags are not permitted to remain on the dam and the City needs a 24 hour notice before a storm to move the sandbags onto the platform. There are no current plans to raise the Upper or Lower Artichoke Reservoir Dams.

Finally, a project to build a pipeline from the Upper Artichoke Reservoir is the only project to protect Newburyport’s water source proposed by the Mayor in his Capital Improvement Plan. According to the engineering firm Pare at last week’s Water and Sewer meeting, this fix will do little to protect Newburyport’s water supply because both dams are too low.

In an election year, and after the recent ask for money for the Recreation Center, it will be difficult to convince the mayor to prioritize this project. Only the mayor can propose projects but city council can exert influence on the mayor, as occurred with the library apology. For example, the city council could even refuse to approve all projects until this one is addressed. It is our responsibility as residents, who are entitled to the safe and dependable water supply that we pay for and need, to contact both the mayor and city council and insist on a fix before we lose our water. Please reach out to your councilor at CityCouncil@newburyportma.gov and Mayor Reardon at mayor@newburyportma.gov and urge them to protect this critical resource.

Lauren Caverly
Newburyport resident

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