After the historic signing of the North Shore Water Resilience Task Force Charter agreement in September 2022, three subcommittees made up of Task Force members and subject matter experts have undertaken much of the Task Force’s work. IRWA staff have been actively involved in all three of these subcommittees.
The Earmark Subcommittee was charged with overseeing the production of three studies, conducted by independent consulting firms and funded by part of the $400,000 in earmarks allocated to the Task Force. These three studies will look at:
- Assessment of the water security and resilience needs and opportunities in the Ipswich River Watershed. (Dewberry Engineers)
- Modeling study of the relative impacts on Ipswich River flows of a range of potential water supply alternatives. (Horsley Witten Group / Weston & Sampson)
- Evaluation of water infrastructure timelines and decision junctures among Task Force member communities to help guide and inform regional action. (Dewberry Engineers)
These three studies, set to be completed next month, will be a huge step forward in terms of providing Task Force members with the information needed to start to make decisions about the best regional solutions for water supplies. With this information in hand, the Task Force will shift into decision making. As one of the goals of the Task Force is to seek “full consensus on actions to support the most promising solutions”, this decision making process will require active engagement from all Task Force members. IRWA looks forward to participating in many productive conversations about a regional solution for all stakeholders in our watershed!
The work of the Joint Narrative Subcommittee is largely complete. This seven-person committee worked to produce a public narrative to explain the current issues that resulted in the creation of the Task Force, as well as our approach to finding solutions to these issues. The process of achieving consensus was arduous and required a lot of active listening to understand and appreciate the various perspectives represented by Task Force members. You can read the full Joint Narrative here. (/https://www.mapc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Joint-Narrative_Final.pdf)
The third, and newest subcommittee, is the Conservation and Demand Management subcommittee which has really only begun its work. This subcommittee arose from a shared understanding that water conservation and demand management are critical tools needed for resilient water supplies. At the Task Force meeting on June 6th, the subcommittee asked attendees to participate in an activity to help guide priority actions for the subcommittee’s work and understand which aspect task force members felt was more important. For example, water demand can be reduced by finding and addressing leaks in underground pipes, or by educating water users how they can save water in their own homes and gardens. Either of these approaches would require very different approaches and resources so it is critical to understand which approach would be most valuable to member communities. Water conservation is a key piece of IRWA’s mission to protect the Ipswich River and we are eager to engage more members of our community in this work!
The Task Force is at a critical juncture. Look for more exciting updates over the next 6 months!