Published in the July 20, 2017 edition
BY BILL LAFORME
NORTH READING – Andover has continued working in recent weeks to convince North Reading to remain as a drinking water customer, despite plans for the town to join the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) water system.
North Reading currently purchases about 60% of its water from Andover, but began looking for alternatives several years ago after Andover it would potentially not be able to meet the town’s long-term water needs. Town Meeting voters approved the proposal to join the MWRA water system last year, and in June they approved the capital spending for infrastructure projects that will connect to the MWRA supply by way of Reading. Andover draws its water supply from the Merrimack River.
When it joins the MWRA system, the town also plans to stop operation of its remaining wells on the Ipswich River.
In a conversation this week with the Transcript, Town Administrator Mike Gilleberto said that North Reading was drawn to the MWRA option because there is no doubt that the MWRA has sufficient water to meet the town’s long term needs. Gilleberto also said that he expects to have a more formal update on the talks with Andover at this Monday’s selectmen’s meeting. At this point though, the town continues taking its previously anticipated steps toward joining the MWRA system. Changing that course would likely require an attention-grabbing proposal from Andover, to say the least.
The talks with Andover are also starting to face a more specific time crunch – bidding on the MWRA infrastructure work is expected to take place later this fall, with the inter-municipal agreement with Reading for work near the town line is expected by early fall.
