The city of Haverhill, Mass., says it has installed temporary diversion pipes that have stopped the flow of raw sewage into the Merrimack River, as New Hampshire officials say there’s no evidence that the pollution has reached any state beaches.
The Merrimack River Watershed Council, however, says testing Wednesday shows many parts of the river downstream of Haverhill have dangerous fecal bacteria levels, and the council urges people to stay out of the river for now.
No issues have been found upstream of Haverhill.
The issue began last Friday when a storm caused a break in a 42-inch sewer main line near the South Mill Street Pump Station. Haverhill sends rainwater and sewage through the same pipes, which can lead to what is known as combined sewer overflow.
Manchester is in the process of a decades-long project separating its rainwater and sewage systems to prevent that. Concord has had two separate systems for decades.
