The water
Beverly and Salem share one water system. It draws from the Ipswich River and stores water in Wenham Lake and two smaller reservoirs. The water board puts hardness at about 54 to 81 milligrams per liter, soft to moderately hard on the U.S. Geological Survey's scale.
At that level a tank collects sediment slowly. Flush it once a year and have the anode rod looked at while the plumber is there. The four jobs that keep a tank from leaking.
Almost half the housing is multi-family
Beverly has about 17,600 housing units. Fifty-four percent are single-family, 19 percent are in two- to four-family houses and 27 percent are in larger buildings. The median home was built in 1956. A quarter of homes heat with oil and a fifth with electricity.
If the heater is above another unit, shut the water, then tell the neighbor below before you do anything else. Who to call first.
Gas and rebates
National Grid supplies both gas and electricity. For a gas smell, leave and call 911, then National Grid at 800-233-5325. Mass Save's 2026 rebate on a heat pump water heater is $750.