EDITORIAL: Regional approach needed to save the Ipswich River

Apr. 16—It was six short years ago that Wayne Castonguay, executive director of the Ipswich River Watershed Association, highlighted the river's endangered status by holding a breakfast event in the middle of a nearly dry riverbed.

Thankfully, the historic 2016 drought has passed. But the threat to the Ipswich River is not. The conservation group American Rivers earlier this week named the waterway one of the 10 most endangered rivers in the country.

The region's major source of drinking water — serving more than 350,000 households and businesses in 14 communities, from tiny Boxford to sprawling Lynn — faces a "grave threat" from excessive water withdrawals, the group said. And the state's uneven hodgepodge of regulations is making things worse.

"The Ipswich River is the poster child for the state's outdated water system," the group said in its report. "An astounding 80% of Ipswich water is exported out of the watershed. Worse, more than 90% of withdrawals are exempt from any water use conditions like conservation measures. Even in non-drought years, stretches of river are pumped dry. Municipalities and residents are increasingly worried about running out of water."

The river resource is managed under the long-outdated 1986 Massachusetts Water Management Act. As American Rivers notes, the Department of Environmental Protection's implementation of the law "follows a confusing system that exempts more users than it regulates."

That means towns like Hamilton and Danvers often have to hand down strict usage bans during the summer, while homeowners in the nearby cities of Beverly and Salem can wash their cars and water their lawns without limit.

While Beverly and Salem only draw water into reservoirs during the winter, when the river level is higher, those communities must still watch their water use. Reservoirs still affect the watershed's groundwater levels, which are essential to the year-round health of the river.

"The fact that we're looking at this individually rather than regionally is very concerning to me," said state Rep. Brad Hill, R-Ipswich.

Fortunately, there is momentum building toward change. Water withdrawal permits are up for renewal for the first time in two decades in Massachusetts, meaning more explicit language about conservation can be added. And legislation has also been proposed that would regulate water use during droughts.

"This is a once-in-generation opportunity to get better rules on the books," the report said.

Doing so will take a concerted effort across the region.

As Alan Taubert, executive director of the Salem and Beverly Water Supply Board, told reporter Paul Leighton, the Ipswich River "is all of ours to try and protect."