Thanks to you, 2022 will go down as one of the biggest years for the river. Below are a few highlights that will also set the stage for an even bigger 2023!
Largest Grants Ever For the River
Ipswich River was awarded $3.4M in grant funding for projects that will restore 238 miles of habitat in the Ipswich and Parker Watersheds. We are honored to have been entrusted with the stewardship of these record-breaking funds that will address fish passage barriers at five dams. Read more.
Historic Drought Response
The drought of 2022 was the worst in recorded history, ushering in unprecedented regional and national coverage to our river. Thanks to you who provided more than 200 written comments, the Dought Bill progressed in the State legislature faster than most bills of its kind and strongly supported the Department of Environmental Protection’s proposal to condition exempted water withdrawals known as “registrations”.
Our River Is Less Endangered Because Of You
Following the designation of the Ipswich River in 2021, as one of the most endangered in all of America, your Association rose to the challenge and successfully achieved five of the actions in our nine step plan to fix the river. Read about the progress that has been made and the important work we have ahead of us.
Task Force Takes A Momentous Step Forward
In September the Northshore Water Resiliency Task Force, a coalition of the towns that use Ipswich River water plus our state legislative delegation, signed an historic charter agreement designed to facilitate communities working together to share water across their borders. This charter, coupled with a water surplus announcement by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and a completed study conducted by the Town of Hamilton and IRWA, provides realistic alternatives to reduce dependency on the Ipswich River. Stay tuned for the Task Force’s own study which will be completed this spring.
Our First Ever Environmental Educator
This year IRWA dramatically expanded its education program, significantly increasing our impact on children and adults across the watershed through classroom initiatives and outdoor programming throughout the watershed. Our first-ever full-time environmental educator, Emma Hughen, started with us in December and is going to grow our educational reach even further in 2023. Read a note from Emma here.
River Restoration & Resiliency Expands Dramatically
This year, we advanced 10 dam and culvert projects to shovel-ready status and submitted several multi-million dollar grants to dramatically increase the pace of river restoration efforts. The Pond Street culvert project in Topsfield was completed in May, which will provide spawning access for river herring to Hood Pond for the first time in over 300 years.
We also expanded our long-standing Greenscapes Program to educate people across the North Shore about strategies for conserving water and protecting our natural waterways. Through this partnership we reviewed the bylaws for 30 communities, providing suggested revisions to enhance low-impact development patterns and sustainable stormwater management.
Riverwatch Program Soars To New Heights
This year we received a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection that helped us transform water quality monitoring across the Parker, Ipswich and Essex Rivers. This funding, along with the 50 citizen scientists who help with the monitoring, improves our ability to determine the health of the river.
Thank you from the Growing Ipswich River Team!
Our full staff: Ryan O’Donnell, Programs Coordinator; Wayne Castonguay, Executive Director; Carla Villa, Engagement Manager; Gail Sorenson, Bookkeeper; Erin Bonney Casey, Planning & Resiliency Program Manager; Neil Shea, Restoration Programs Manager; Tracy Sopchak, Director of Development and Engagement; Emma Hughen, Environmental Educator; Deb Lindahl, Operations & Administration Manager
2022 will likely go down as the biggest year in our organization’s history. We strengthened our coalitions across municipalities and worked with our State and Federal delegations to bring more attention and resources to protect the river than ever before. With your support, we were able to expand our staff and be the most effective organization we can be setting the stage for an even better 2023!
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