HAVERHILL — They agree it's a mess.
Two city councilors took a tour of the Merrimack River in Haverhill, which included stops along its banks to see tires floating or stuck in river mud and other forms of junk.
Rocky Morrison, president of the nonprofit Clean River Project, took councilors David Hall and William Macek on a ride in one of his group's specially designed pontoon boats to show them how polluted the river is with trash.
Morrison said his Methuen-based environmental group wants to clean Haverhill's section of the river, just as it has done between Lawrence and Lowell over the past five years.
Hall and Macek have asked Morrison to discuss his plan at the Sept. 28 City Council meeting and explain why he is asking the city for $12,000 to undertake the work.
Hall is chairman of the city's Public Safety Committee. Macek is chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.
"What we saw were deplorable conditions on both banks of the river," Hall said. "One of the worst sites was on the banks bordering the old Haverhill Paperboard company. There are yards of banking that are covered in plastic. I was overwhelmed with what I saw and it appears to have been there for a long time."
From a distance it looked like the roots of trees growing along the banks below the old paperboard mill, Macek said.
"It could almost be declared a hazardous site and you have to wonder how did the plastic get there," Macek said. "It almost appears it was built up for some reason, maybe as a retention of the banking. Maybe this needs to be looked at by the state from an environmental standpoint."
On the opposite side of the river, along Riverside Avenue, Hall and Macek saw other forms of junk, including tires, shopping carts, car parts and furniture.
Worth $12K to clean up
"It's a reasonable amount of money for the work that will be done," Macek said of the $12,000 Morrison would charge. "The debris is almost continuous along the shore, whether it's a shopping cart or tire."
Morrison told Hall and Macek they would have seen more junk had it been low tide.
"The trip convinced me that the river has got to be cleaned," Hall said. "We've spent all this money on the riverwalk and next season we hope to attract more boaters as part of our efforts to actively use the river for recreational purposes. When you're out on the river and you see all the junk, it's really terrible.''
Morrison said his group recently discovered so many tires in one section of the river between Riverside Park and the yacht club that they named it "tire cove."
Haverhill has been spotlighting the river as a recreational resource and tourist attraction, touting its cleaner condition, which has drawn new marinas and boaters in the last several years. Recent low tides have exposed the tires and other debris.
Morrison said funding will pay for gas and maintenance for his group's three boats, insurance, as well as food for volunteers who take part in the cleanups.
"I just want to be sure we have all the information we need to protect the city," Hall said. "I'm very optimistic because his group has a great track record in Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen and Dracut, where they have cleaned the river."
Macek said the city needs to be concerned about any possible disruption of the shortnose sturgeon's breeding grounds, which sturgeon researchers said are between the Basiliere Bridge and upstream to the Methuen line. Sturgeons breed in the rocky riverbed in these areas.
"I think we should be cautious and not do anything that would disturb those areas," Macek said. "I don't think a shoreline cleaning is going to be a problem, but I just want to be cautious."
Preliminary work
Morrison's group was in Haverhill over the Labor Day weekend and did preliminary removal of tires, bicycles, shopping carts and other debris and arranged it in piles on the Bradford side. He said if the city approves funding, his group will return next month to remove debris before winter sets in.
"If we get funding from the city, or donations, we'll return in the spring," Morrison said. "It will take a good part of next summer to clean the river. Then the following year we'll do a maintenance sweep, then we'll patrol it from time to time."
Macek said despite the junk that litters Haverhill's section of river, the boat ride confirmed just how beautiful the river is and why the city is looking promote it.
"If you make it look nice it will be more of a draw for people to come up the river, dock their boats, and go to our restaurants," Macek said. "It will bring commerce to the city and that's part of what we're trying to accomplish. Not only to have Haverhill be a destination by cars, but a destination by boat."
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