Green Lawrence Blue Merrimack

A Stormwater Resilience Plan

Lawrence faces challenges with flooding and stormwater management, which affects our neighborhoods and rivers. The Green Lawrence Blue Merrimack project aims to address these issues by developing a long-term plan to improve our aging infrastructure and protect the city from future climate impacts.

Now through June 2026, the project will analyze the city’s stormwater systems, prioritize necessary improvements, and create solutions to reduce flooding and protect our rivers.

Community involvement is key—stay updated and find out how you can help shape a safer, more resilient Lawrence.

This is a two-year project focused on the development of a Stormwater Resilience Master Plan for the City of Lawrence. Funding for the project is being provided by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through its Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program.

The project team will analyze the city’s 137 miles of sanitary and combined sewer mains and 41 miles of stormwater sewers to prioritize infrastructure improvements to:

  1. Reduce the volume of sewage the city discharges into the Spicket and Merrimack Rivers. These discharges are called combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and they occur during most rain events when the system capacity is overwhelmed and unable to convey the mixture of wastewater and stormwater to the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District treatment plant.
  2. Reduce the severity and impact neighborhood flooding. In August of 2023, flooding from one storm damaged 209 residences—some in exceedance of 4 feet, 21 businesses also experienced flooding, and over $300,000 in damages to public infrastructure occurred.
  3. Identify equitable financing options and solutions to build the city’s capacity to manage our aging infrastructure. This includes drafting a Stormwater Utility Feasibility Report and an organizational assessment of the Department of Public Works to guide the implementation of stormwater infrastructure.

Central to the project is engaging residents and businesses because the solutions to a resilient future in Lawrence will require actions by everyone. Engagement will be accomplished through public meetings and social media posts to document the project’s progress, articles in local media to explain significant project milestones, and direct resident engagement.