Swampscott's sewer infrastructure is largely over 100 years old. Many of the sewer pipes underground are cracked and broken, which means that the sewerage leaving homes is leaching into the groundwater instead of being sent to the sewage treatment plan in Lynn.
Swampscott has been under consent decree ("sued by the EPA") since 2015. A consent decree is a mutual agreement between the Town of Swampscott and the Environmental Protection Agency for Swampscott to fix the environmental damages caused by our broken sewer infrastructure.
Water & Sewer History Timeline
Prior to 1900 | Swampscott and Lynn used Stacey’s Brook (which ran above ground) for the disposal of sewage. This caused many problems: polluted backup into yards and homes during wet weather as well as pollution at King’s Beach
1891 | “The necessity for sewerage is being felt in several localities, particularly in the low territories near the mouth of Stacey Brook, along Humphrey Street, and near the Ocean House.”
1896 | Swampscott Board of Health adopted a regulation that wastewater should be conveyed to a common sewer “No person shall suffer waste or stagnant water in cellar or vacant ground...” Annual Report
1899 | “...it is imperative that a system of sewerage should be adopted.” – Committee on Sewerage, Annual Report
1902-1903 | Swampscott builds first sewer system with outfall. Note: Swampscott’s sewer system and drain system have always used separate pipes. (Lynn built a combined sewer system which they have been working to separate per their own Consent Decree. This is why they have permitted Combined Sewer Overflows or CSOs)
1956 | Chlorinator to treat polluted water at King’s Beach installed, Fisherman’s Beach followed
1973 | Swampscott built treatment plant
1982 | Lynn Water & Sewer Commission (LWSC) formed and Treatment Plant planned and built over next few years
1990 | Swampscott, Saugus, Nahant, and LWSC signed municipal agreement for wastewater treatment at Lynn Wastewater Treatment Plant
2007 | Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued Administrative Consent Order requiring Swampscott to comply with the Clean Water Act
2012 | DEP issued Notice of Noncompliance
2015 | Swampscott Select Board signs Consent Decree with EPA. Swampscott is required to send bi-annual Compliance Reports to EPA
2016-2020 | Swampscott works on resolving sewage at King's Beach in Phase I of the Stacey's Brook catchment area. Work was deemed "ahead of progress" and ceased between 2021-2024.
2023 | Kleinfelder completes Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Asset. Management Report and presents to Select Board on 10/4 (p. 15). It was in this report that Save King's Beach discovered that Fisherman's Beach had exceptionally high levels of bacteria in both dry and wet weather in the Marshall Street culvert. The Town had not taken action on this from 2019-2024, nor had it warned residents of the possible health issues at that culvert.
2023 | After much pushing from the public, the Select Board votes to create a new Water and Sewer Infrastructure Committee Advisory Committee which will "advise the Select Board on matters affecting Swampscott’s water resource systems, including drinking water, wastewater, storm water, and ground water (including underdrains). "
2023 | The Select Board approves the use of $2.5M ARPA funding to work on Phase II of the Stacey's Brook catchment area. They also approve an additional $2.5M from state revolving fund ("SRF") loans every other year toward rehabilitating our sewer systems.
2024 | The newly reconfigured Select Board approves $1.4M ARPA funds to begin the shovel-ready project for Fisherman's Beach. A contractor has been selected to begin the work and progress for this project can be found via the Town's website here.
2024 | The Water and Sewer Infrastructure Advisory Committee creates the Fisherman's Beach Water Quality Dashboard as way of collecting and disseminating more information about Fisherman's Beach water quality. The inaugural season shows much greater bacterial counts than anticipated, prompting several closures of the beach in 2024. Confusingly, despite the overall gain in transparency, Save King's Beach has asked the committee chair for the complete historical data set on several occasions and been denied this information.
UPCOMING WORK
2024 | Kleinfelder is currently working on a scope of work for Phase II of the Stacey's Brook catchment area that leads to King's Beach. After the scope is completed and the work is "bid out," sewer line rehabilitation (pipe sleeving and fixing broken pipes) will begin in late 2024.
2024 | Swampscott Town Meeting approved an additional $3.5M (1.7M for Fisherman's Beach and $1.8M for King's Beach) to be borrowed and used to fix broken sewer infrastructure. Work for these funds would begin in 2025.