Mayor Sean Reardon

As we head into the Fourth of July weekend, I wanted to share another update on the Merrimack River sewer discharge.

Newburyport will continue to take a data driven approach when making decisions about reopening our beaches and waterways. We are not going to rush this process. Protecting public health remains our top priority.

Our Health Department continues daily water quality testing at four locations around Plum Island, and we are working closely with the Merrimack River Watershed Council. Yesterday, 5 of the 7 locations tested by the Council exceeded acceptable bacteria levels, including Haverhill, West Newbury, Newburyport, and the Salisbury riverfront. Today’s testing showed 6 of the 7 locations exceeded the safe limit, reinforcing that while conditions may be improving upstream, water quality in our region has not yet consistently reached levels that would allow us to safely reopen our beaches and waterways.

There has been important progress in Haverhill. The first emergency bypass is now complete, and untreated sewage is no longer flowing into the Merrimack River from that location. Work on the second bypass continues, with completion expected tomorrow. Haverhill has also announced that its investigation into the cause of the failure will begin on Monday.

The Commonwealth has reopened all DCR beaches for swimming, and Newbury and Salisbury have also reopened their beaches. Newburyport’s beaches remain closed while we continue to evaluate local testing data and work closely with our state and regional partners.

I know everyone is eager to enjoy the water this holiday weekend, especially with the heat. I appreciate your patience as we make decisions based on science and local data, not the calendar. We will continue to keep everyone updated as new information becomes available.

#newburyport #merrimackriver #plumisland #publichealth #fourthofjuly

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