Conversations That Connect
Treading Dangerous Waters Café
Sat, Apr 20
|Newburyport
We invite you to join young people in the area for a stimulating conversation about how we can make the Merrimack “fishable and swimmable” for future generations.* SPACE IS LIMITED. Please click the link below to register.


Time & Location
Apr 20, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Newburyport, 331 High St, Newburyport, MA 01950, USA
About the event
SignUp link: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/442716074037/false#/invitation
The mighty Merrimack is just one of many rivers abused over the past 200 years – used as an open sewer and dumping ground for toxic chemicals. The Clean Water Act of 1972 was intended to rescue our rivers and make them “fishable and swimmable” again. But 50 years later, we are losing ground because of obsolete sewer systems, unregulated development, and climate change!
This past year, 2 BILLION gallons of CSOs (untreated sewage and toxic chemicals) were released into the Merrimack. The “stuff” pollutes everything in its path—it clings to boats, splashes up on boardwalks, and poisons our waters for days after severe rains. Record rainfalls this past summer triggered sewer overflows that closed our waters for most of June and July (39 of 61 days) because of dangerous bacteria levels.
Almost 2 million people who depend on a clean river for their livelihood, recreation, and drinking water are…