By: Lenny Mirra
There was a lot of shock and outrage over a sewer main break in Haverhill that dumped millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Merrimack River, but the real shock is that it hasn’t happened more often.
The system was built over a half century ago and is well past its operational lifespan.
In fact, for the past ten years the city has been operating under a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental agencies to upgrade the aging system and address combined sewer overflows which dump sewage into the river every time it rains.
When untreated sewage enters rivers and coastal waters, it doesn’t simply create an unpleasant headline. It closes beaches, threatens public health, harms wildlife, damages local businesses, and erodes public confidence in government. Residents who pay some of the highest taxes in the nation have every right to ask a simple question: Where has the money gone?
Massachusetts has consistently postponed major investments in water and sewer infrastructure while directing billions toward new programs and expanding government. Aging pipes, pump stations, and treatment facilities rarely make for exciting ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but they are among government’s most fundamental responsibilities. Unlike political initiatives that generate headlines today, infrastructure investments protect families for generations.
It won’t be cheap, but other states are well on their way to upgrading their water and sewer systems, recognizing that what they dump into the Merrimack seriously affects those downriver. While Haverhill has dawdled under a mandate to clean up its act, cities in New Hampshire have spent the past ten years steadily upgrading their systems.
Manchester, NH is in the middle of a massive $360 million, 20-year upgrade of its main wastewater treatment plant. Merrimack, NH has started its Phase III upgrades to its treatment facility and pump stations. Concord, NH has fully separated its stormwater and sewer systems, so rains don’t go into the wastewater treatment plants, avoiding Combined Sewer Overflow (CSOs).
And New Hampshire did all of this without a sales or income tax.
The Haverhill sewage spill exposed a hard truth. Much of the Commonwealth’s underground infrastructure was built decades ago and has reached or exceeded its intended lifespan. Engineers and municipal officials have warned for years that aging sewer systems require modernization, replacement, and increased capacity. Those warnings were often acknowledged but too frequently delayed.
Infrastructure failures rarely happen overnight. They develop slowly through deferred maintenance, postponed upgrades, and budgets that prioritize immediate political gains over long-term public needs. Every year repairs are delayed, costs rise. Every year aging systems are pushed beyond their limits, the risk of catastrophic failure increases.
Massachusetts residents already bear one of the nation’s highest overall tax burdens. They reasonably expect those dollars to maintain essential public infrastructure before funding less critical initiatives. Safe drinking water, reliable sewer systems, roads, bridges, and public safety should never become secondary priorities.
The cost of neglect is now flowing into our rivers and onto our beaches. Massachusetts cannot afford another generation of deferred maintenance. It is time to stop celebrating balanced budgets while the pipes beneath our feet continue to fall apart.
Lenny Mirra is a former State Representative from Newbury, MA. Follow him on Substack.◊