Lynn Maguire

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink – at least not from October through April on Rust Island. No fire hydrants, either. Just a summer-only, above-ground water system installed decades ago by the City of Gloucester and consistently maintained by the City throughout the years.

We’d tried many times before to get the City of Gloucester to install deep water to provide fire protection and year-round drinking water—even as the City converted almost all other neighborhoods with City-installed, City-maintained seasonal water to deep, year-round water.

In 2024, we tried again.

Who listened? Greg Verga. Who acted? Greg Verga.

It wasn’t an easy call, but it was the right thing to do. And Mayor Verga did more than support year-round water on Rust Island, he championed the installation of year-round water in the two other neighborhoods (the Hillside Road and Valley Road area and the Lincoln Street, Fernald Street, and Walker Street area) that remained on City-installed and City-maintained seasonal water.

Thanks to Mayor Verga’s leadership, the City Council voted unanimously to fund the installation of deep water in all three neighborhoods that remained on City-installed and City-maintained seasonal water.

I heartily endorse Greg Verga for mayor, not just because he made the right call on protecting these neighborhoods, but because of the way he did it. He listened actively to our concerns, did the research to determine that ours was a legitimate request, and led the charge to make it happen.