NEWBURYPORT — After weeks of residents complaining about a noticeable change in water quality, Mayor Sean Reardon tried to allay any concerns during Saturday’s appearance on internet radio program Local Pulse.
“I’ve got to tell you, I got up this morning and the first thing I did was pour a glass out of the faucet, and it was to me, it was back,” Reardon said. “So I don’t know if it’s back on everywhere else, but I think it’s finally coming around, which is great.”
Reardon says they get calls about water all throughout the year.
“There are some people that just really get worked up about the water and how it tastes,” Reardon said.
He said typically those calls do not alarm him.
“I’ve lived here for 50 years and it’s hard for me because I’ve just never been someone to get worked up over the water here,” Reardon said. “We talked about the taste and the smell, and it’s never bothered me.”
Still, Reardon admitted that over the last few weeks the change in water quality was “just so drastic.”
“I think what happened with the water the last couple weeks has been upsetting because it’s just something you’re just not used to,” Reardon said.
Discussing the current state of the city’s water, he said he is thrilled to see it getting better.
“I had a water meeting this week on Monday with the crew and the water department, who tests our water every day,” Reardon said. “They could already tell on Monday that things were improving, and like I said, this morning I felt like my water was back to how I remembered it being.”
Speaking about the cause of the strange smell and taste to the water, he said it was a result of an algae bloom from last year.
“Because of the seasons that we went through last year, that all builds up in our reservoirs,” Reardon said. “As everyone probably knows, we have a three-reservoir system that feeds us our water. We have the big one, Indian Hill—all these are primarily located in West Newbury—then it trickles down to the Upper Artichoke, and then the Lower Artichoke.”
He explained that winter weather completely covered the reservoir as ice built up underneath, making it so water is unable to rotate as usual.
With the latest bit of warm weather, he said things are finally moving in the city’s reservoirs.
“From my vantage point, the quality has greatly improved since earlier in the week and last week,” Reardon said. “I think we’ve turned a corner, and I think people are going to see a big difference here in the next couple days.”
For folks curious for more details, he directed them to a recently posted FAQ available at cityofnewburyport.com/home/news/faqs-why-some-newburyport-residents-may-notice-changes-in-water-taste-or-odor.
“We take our water very seriously,” Reardon said. “We have some really amazing personnel in our water department. Peter King, who just recently took over as superintendent, has just been amazing.”
Later on in the roughly hour-long interview, Reardon announced that he would be appointing Kim Turner as Department of Public Services director, pending approval from the City Council.
Turner, who has long been Reardon’s special projects manager, was named interim director effective Dec. 9. Deputy DPS Director John Carey had been named as interim director in July, following the departure of then DPS Director Wayne Amaral in June.
The Council will be considering Reardon’s appointment starting at its next meeting on March 23.
Other topics covered included water infrastructure projects and snow removal.
To listen to the full episode, visit newburyportnews.com/localpulse/
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.