HAVERHILL — The only viable way for Haverhill to increase its drinking water supply is to develop groundwater wells along the banks of the Merrimack River, the city's water consultant told the City Council last night.

Blake Martin of Weston & Sampson Engineering said his company has tested sites "all over the city" for six years looking for new surface and groundwater supplies.

"None were economically viable or would provide favorable yields, other than along the river," he said. "There are no viable alternatives to the river wells."

Critics of the plan have raised concerns about the safety of river water given Haverhill's place as the last major city between the river and the ocean. Several cities that tap the Merrimack River for drinking water, such as Lowell, Methuen and Lawrence, are upriver from Haverhill.

Haverhill now gets its drinking water from Kenoza Lake, Crystal Lake and Millvale Reservoir, but projections show the city exceeding its allowable supply from those sources in about a decade. The search for new sources began six years ago.

Martin said the city has identified 16 locations for wells along the river, with the best being behind Haverhill Stadium. He said those wells could provide between 2 million and 4 million gallons per day, depending on whether the city were to remove the water with vertical wells or radial wells that branch out in many directions.

The idea behind these wells is that the land between the wells and the river provides a sort of natural filtration. The water from the river wells would be treated at a new plant at that location or pumped to the treatment facility at Kenoza Lake, Mayor James Fiorentini said.

The city is exploring the possibility of tapping the wells so it can avoid directly tapping the river, the mayor said. Tapping the river would be extremely expensive and difficult to obtain state permits, he said.

Fiorentini, Martin and Deputy DPW Director Robert Ward attended the meeting to brief the council on the water study, which the city has spent $422,000 on so far.

They said the city must find more water before it exceeds the 7.1 million gallons per day allowed by its water permit. If Haverhill exceeds the allowed capacity, state regulators can fine the city up to $25,000 per day and impose building restrictions, Ward said.

Fiorentini said he intends to continue the water study and that he or a future mayor will be back before the council in a few years with a final plan and recommendation.

"We never want to be in a position of coming close to exceeding our capacity because it takes about five years to get a new source approved," the mayor said.

The issue went before the council primarily due to the vocal opposition to the water study by City Councilor James Donahue.

Donahue said he is worried water from the river or wells near it could become cross-contaminated by chemicals or other hazardous waste in the river.

Donahue also said he does not believe regulators have required the city to look for alternative drinking water sources. He said he believes the mayor has used the excuse of a so-called mandate to look for more drinking water to justify spending city money on the water study.

Last night, Fiorentini said he used the word "mandate" because searching for alternative drinking water sources is "what we have been told we should or need to do."

"Perhaps I should have said 'should' or 'ought,'" Fiorentini said. "But this is what I and two of my predecessors believed was the right thing to do."

At the conclusion of the water presentation, the council voted 7-1 to approve a request by Donahue to refer the matter to a study committee "to have a debate on alternative sources other than the river."

City Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien was the lone dissenter. Councilor Robert Scatamacchia left the room momentarily just before the vote.

The city has about $900,000 left in the account that has been used to pay for the river study. The account is funded from water impact fees paid by developers who build houses in the city, Ward said. The money can only be used to protect or expand the city's drinking water system, he said.

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