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Prototype · A redesign concept for the Haverhill Water Department. Not the city's official site.

City of Haverhill Water & Wastewater Services
Critical Drought

All nonessential outdoor water use is prohibited. See what still is permitted

Updated September 15, 2026

Water supply status

The city is in a critical drought.

Kenoza Lake supplies every tap in Haverhill, and it is running about 9.7 feet below its average level. All nonessential outdoor water use is prohibited under Chapter 250 of the City Code.

What am I still allowed to do? Is my water safe to drink?
Millvale Reservoir
Offline, held at lower levels to capture future rainfall.
Crystal Lake
Pumping about 1 million gallons a day into the system.
0 ft510Average levelLevel now9.7 ftshortKENOZA LAKE
Kenoza Lake is the terminal reservoir for the whole city supply, and it is sitting about 9.7 feet below its average level. The hatched band is the water that is missing.

Common tasks

How it works

From four lakes to your tap, and back to the river

Haverhill owns and operates the whole chain: the reservoirs, the treatment plant, the 235 miles of main beneath the streets, the sewers that carry it away, and the plant that cleans it before it returns to the Merrimack.

Millvale Reservoirheld for rainfallCrystal LakepumpedRound Pondgravity fedoffline~1 MGDgravityKenoza Laketerminal reservoir9.7 ft lowTreatment plant12 MGD capacity9 process stagesTanks & boosters3 tanks · 5 stationspressure for hillsYour tap18,000 accounts235 mi of mainraw watertreatedpressuriseddown the drainSewer collection70% separate storm drainrest combinedWastewater treatment plant18 MGD average · 65 MGD peakHaverhill + GrovelandMerrimack Riverfinal dischargecollection systemtreated dischargecombined sewer overflow — bypasses the plant in heavy rain
Every source reaches your tap through Kenoza Lake, which is why its level governs the whole city supply. On the return side, the dashed path is the one the city is spending $34M to close: where sewage and stormwater still share a pipe, heavy rain overwhelms the system and the excess goes to the river instead of the plant.
accounts served
18,000 accounts served water, sewer or both
miles of water main
235 miles of water main 2-inch to 36-inch
MGD plant capacity
12 MGD plant capacity renovated 2020
gallons treated a year
2B gallons treated a year 6 MGD average

Notices

September 26, 2025

Drinking water service line inspections

Crews are inspecting service lines across the city to determine what each pipe is made of. Your water will not be shut off.

  • Inspections run between September 29 and November 14, 2025.
  • Work takes place in the public right-of-way near your water service shutoff.
  • Crews use vacuum excavation to open a 12 to 16 inch test hole, taking one to two hours per property.
  • Water service will not be interrupted.
  • The site is restored with loam and seed, pavement or concrete to match the original condition.
  • Work is carried out by Albanese Brothers, Inc. and McVac Environmental Inc. All personnel carry identification.

Questions: Andrew Carvalho, Water Maintenance Division — (978) 374-2368 , 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Monday to Friday

Standing advisory

Combined sewer overflows and the Merrimack River

Combined sewer overflow discharges consist, or likely consist, of untreated or partially treated sewage and waste.

  • Public health officials recommend avoiding contact with the river during rainstorms and for 48 hours afterward.
  • Around 30 percent of the city is served by combined sewers that carry both sewage and stormwater in one pipe. Heavy rain can exceed the capacity of the system, and the excess discharges to the river rather than backing up into homes.
  • The city is separating these sewers neighbourhood by neighbourhood under a federal consent decree.

Work underway now

Three projects are in construction. Water service continues throughout — temporary above-ground bypass lines are standard whenever a main is replaced.

All projects →
  • In construction

    Locke Street Area Phase 2 — Combined Sewer Separation and Water Improvements

    $18,570,700

    CWSRF No. 18993

  • In construction

    Locke Street Area Phase 1 — Combined Sewer Separation and Water Improvements

    $15,400,000

    CWSRF No. 16878

  • In construction

    Phase 3 — 2022 Water and Sewer Improvements

    $16,400,000

    IFB0 18.22 · DWSRF No. 6889 · CWSRF No. 6816