Millions of gallons of raw sewage dumping into Merrimack River, causing Plum Island beaches to close

Plum Island beaches in Newburyport, Massachusetts remain closed to swimmers for the foreseeable future as millions of gallons of raw sewage are being pumped into the Merrimack River in nearby Haverhill each day.

Initially on Thursday, Newburyport officials said 60,000 gallons of wastewater were accidentally dumped into the river in Haverhill, which is upstream.

Plum Island was set to reopen for swimming on Saturday after a 48-hour precautionary closure. Instead, crews in Haverhill found a break in a 42-inch sewer force main near its pumping station. When crews began inspecting, they found a second break.

"Because this is now an active discharge, the City of Newburyport is closing Plum Island Beach to swimming effective immediately and until further notice," Newburyport Director of Public Health Kelechi Obika said in a Saturday statement. "This closure is being implemented out of an abundance of caution to protect public health while the discharge is stopped, repairs are completed, and conditions can be fully evaluated."

On Sunday, Haverhill Department of Public Works director Robert Ward told WBZ-TV that the city is currently working on a pair of 24-inch bypass lines to go around the major breaks in the main line.

Until that fix can be made, Ward estimated that about 8 to 10 million gallons of raw sewage a day will be pumped into the Merrimack River. A contractor told the city a temporary fix could be put in place by Friday, potentially a day or two sooner in a best-case scenario. 

On Plum Island, signs were in place warning people not to swim in the river.

"Yeah, we could smell it. We live fairly close to the water treatment facility in Newburyport. Every once in a while you can get a smell from that. It was kind of the same smell," beachgoer Doug Riley said.