McCauley is the Best Candidate to Address Our Drinking Water Problem

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On September 29, about 30 people interested in the city’s drinking water supply attended a meeting of the City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Water Infrastructure Prioritization.

Nearly all our city councilors and candidates for contested council seats were there, as well as the city engineer, water treatment operations superintendent, and special projects manager. West Newbury’s town manager and about a dozen Newburyport residents also attended.

The city engineer presented a lengthy slide deck describing what are currently estimated to be $68 million in drinking water projects competing for priority.

The water treatment superintendent discussed the risk of algal blooms in the shallow Artichoke Reservoirs. We’ve had to treat the water two or three times every year for the past few years. This year, we applied our sixth treatment and may need to switch chemicals because the blooms are becoming increasingly resistant to our current treatments.

West Newbury’s town manager advised that his town had formally reached out to Newburyport a few years ago to open negotiations on a lapsed Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA) for shared services.

The option to run an emergency line into Amesbury’s water system if ours fails was also discussed, even though there is still no agreement in place for Amesbury to sell water to Newburyport.

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A few residents noted the similarity to a July 2021 presentation and pointedly asked why no progress has been made. The uncomfortable consensus was that we’re stuck.

During my IT career, I’ve seen companies struggle with technically complex, multimillion-dollar challenges. Despite hiring consultants, commissioning studies and holding meetings, they find themselves stuck like a car in the mud ‒ fishtailing and spinning their wheels.

These companies move forward when someone from an internal team emerges who pushes on the bumper. The person gets on top of the problem, applies pressure, inspires others to help and keeps working until the tires get traction and the vehicle moves.

It’s hard work. Not everyone can do it, or is willing to do it.

I believe Jim McCauley is the only elected official who can push the bumper on our very serious drinking water situation.

As a city councilor, Jim has proven he can understand the technical challenges and work with all the stakeholders. He’s shown that he is not afraid to break a sweat or get mud splattered on him when needed.

Jim McCauley is the leader/manager we need in Newburyport. Jim’s ability to take on hard situations is one of many reasons I will vote for him on November 4th.

Jean Costello
Newburyport resident

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