LOCATED AT: 143 COUNTY ROAD, IPSWICH MA MAIL: P.O. BOX 576, IPSWICH, MA 01938 PHONE: 978-412-8200 FAX: 978-412-9100

Balancing the Water Budget

The Balancing the Water Budget project focuses on developing and promoting innovative financing mechanisms to fund water conservation and stormwater management activities in municipalities across the Ipswich River watershed.

IRWA’s initial focus is assisting the Town of Ipswich in evaluating program options and financing mechanisms for integrated management of water resources. The report Balancing the Water Budget in Ipswich, MA: Model Financing Mechanisms for Integrated Water Resources Management (2007) provides detailed recommendations on two key programs: a water demand mitigation program and a stormwater utility.

Download the report in PDF format:

Download individual chapters in PDF format:

An additional report, Analysis of Water Offset Programs for Implementation in the Ipswich River Watershed, Massachusetts, surveyed the landscape of financing programs across the United States, including water banks and stormwater utilities. The report was produced in 2006 by Krista Anderson as a masters project for the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. It offers recommendations for a comprehensive water offset program to improve streamflows in the Ipswich River watershed. Download the report in PDF format:

This project is funded under a Watershed Improvement Grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA), and is intended to advance the recommendations of the Ipswich River Watershed Management Plan and the Parker River Watershed Action Plan.