State and local officials are still scrambling to stop days of wastewater discharge out of Haverhill into the Merrimack River.
The hazardous pollution has triggered swimming bans on North Shore beaches just days before a major heat wave over the holiday weekend. It left beaches on Newbury’s Plum Island all but abandoned Tuesday morning.
The whole predicament bears a striking similarity to one famous movie about closing Massachusetts beaches over Fourth of July weekend.
“We’re going to have a heat wave and no ocean. I’d rather deal with a man-eating shark,” said Alicia Raymond, a manager and chef at Riptide Café & Bar on Plum Island.
“It’s definitely going to impact business — and all the poor people that have rented houses for this week,” she added. “Hopefully they’ll come here and just not be able to swim in the ocean. Fingers crossed it doesn’t start to smell.”
Sewage is still flowing into the Merrimack River. A sewer main in Haverhill ruptured Friday night, releasing approximately eight million gallons of wastewater a day into the river.
North Shore beaches in Newburyport, Newbury, Salisbury and Ipswich have posted warning signs about high bacteria counts, cautioning beachgoers to stay out of the water. Many shellfishing areas are closed, too.
Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon said the sewage emergency couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“We’ll have to see how much it impacts visits to our downtown in the next few days,” he said. “But apart from all that, there’s just a huge health risk.”
It’s not yet clear when the leaks will be fixed or when the beaches could reopen. State officials are testing the water for bacteria levels at Salisbury Beach and Sandy Point State Reservation Tuesday.
While Plum Island beaches looked empty, the Salisbury Beach Reservation just north of the Merrimack River still enticed dozens of people.
A red pennant — signaling “No Swimming” — flapped in the stiff breeze atop a lifeguard stand on the Salisbury oceanfront. One of the lifeguards spotted two Canadian women wading into the surf and urged them to come out of the ocean.
“We didn’t know,” said Sonia Sage, a tourist from Quebec, as she frantically toweled off her legs. “I just want to get everything off.”
Sage said she loves cold oceans — but not enough to brave sewage-infused saltwater.
Other beachgoers said they were just enjoying the cool breezes on a hot day.
“We weren’t planning on swimming, just having a good time laying down,” said Mei Beilagus, who walked with her friend on a long Plum Island boardwalk.
Sitting under an umbrella at a nearly empty private parking lot on Plum Island, Renee Karp waited for cars to roll in and charge $20 per car to park.
“The beaches are not closed. The water is closed,” she said, her voice rising in frustration. “The beaches are open. People could still come to the beach. How many people actually go in the water? The water is freezing.”
GBH’s Marilyn Schairer contributed reporting.
