Wastewater dumped into Merrimack River; popular Massachusetts beaches closed

Plum Island beaches in Newburyport, Massachusetts are closed this weekend after 60,000 gallons of wastewater were accidentally dumped into the Merrimack River on Thursday and then two equipment breaks were discovered.

The city of Haverhill said it's alerting nearby communities and residents along the river that a contractor doing sewer separation work on Thursday morning "mistakenly discharged wastewater to the storm drainage system" on Garden Street over a four-hour period. 

"As a precaution, residents and recreational users in Haverhill and downstream Merrimack River communities are advised to avoid contact with river water in the vicinity of the discharge and downstream areas for 48 hours," the city said. 

On Saturday, the city announced that more wastewater had overflowed into the Merrimack River after heavy rainfall caused a break in a major pipeline. The mayor's office explained that crews began working on the repairs after discovering a second break in the pipe.

"It does not mean the entire pipeline has failed, but it does require more extensive repair," the Mayor's office said in a press release. "Because of the two breaks, untreated wastewater is being discharged into the Merrimack River downstream of the Haverhill's downtown area instead of reaching the wastewater treatment plant."

The city said it is working as quickly as possible to ensure the wastewater stops entering the Merrimack River. They are investigating the cause of the pipeline failures. 

Plum Island Beach closed

The Newburyport Health Department has closed all public access to Plum Island Beach. The closure is expected to last through at least Monday, depending on water quality tests.

Making contact with unsafe water can result in nausea and vomiting, respiratory symptoms, eye irritation and earaches. 

Massachusetts beach closures

There were over 20 beach closures in Massachusetts as of Sunday morning. Most were due to unsafe levels of bacteria in the water, which is not unusual after heavy rain.

The other beaches closed Sunday, according to the Interactive Beach Water Quality Dashboard, are:

Damon Pond Beach, Ashby (Other)
Patuisset, Bourne (Bacterial Exceedance)
Cliff Pond, Brewster (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Flax Pond, Brewster (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Hidden Bay, Dartmouth (Bacterial Exceedance)
Moses Smith Creek, Dartmouth (Bacterial Exceedance)
Manhattan Avenue, Fairhaven (Bacterial Exceedance)
Sand Point, Ipswich (CSO/SSSO event)
Kings, Lynn (Bacterial Exceedance)
Sesachacha Pond, Nantucket (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Plum Island, Newburyport (Sewer system overflow event)
Crystal Lake, Newton (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Frye Pond Beach, North Andover (Bacterial Exceedance)
Little Sandy, Pembroke (Bacterial Exceedance)
S.P.E.N.A. Beach, Rochester (Bacterial Exceedance)
Children's Island, Salem (Bacterial Exceedance)
Ocean Avenue, Salem (Bacterial Exceedance)
Salisbury Beach, Salisbury (CSO/SSSO event)
Peckham Pond, Saugus (Bacterial Exceedance)  
Beamans Pond, Templeton (Bacterial Exceedance)
Briarwood, Wareham (Bacterial Exceedance)
Margaret Lindley Park, Williamstown (Bacterial Exceedance)
Shannon Beach, Winchester (Bacterial Exceedance)