Which line on a Merrimack homeowner's bill changes when a 300-acre brewery goes quiet? Most coverage of the Anheuser-Busch closure has focused on the property tax rolls and the jobs a new owner might bring. The town's own minutes put the first effect on the sewer system. Merrimack's sewer system runs on user fees alone. For years, one of those users was a brewery that paid a large share of the bills and also sent wastewater the treatment plant relied on to keep its discharge within its pH limit.
The brewery at 221 Daniel Webster Highway once housed the Budweiser Clydesdales and had a tasting room and beer garden. It carried a town valuation of $35 million and paid more than $780,000 a year in property taxes, NH Business Review reported in September 2026. The same article noted that it was one of Merrimack's largest wastewater customers, paying between $1 million and $1.5 million a year in utility fees. The property tax loss is spread across the whole town. The sewer loss lands on a smaller group: the homes and businesses connected to the municipal sewer system.
A Fund With No Tax Dollars in It
Merrimack accounts for sewer service through a separate Wastewater Treatment Fund, numbered Fund 31 in the town budget. At the January 14, 2026 budget session, Town Manager Paul Micali said that no tax dollars go into the sewer fund and that it is supported entirely by user fees.
That arrangement explains why the closure matters to sewered households in particular. When a general-fund taxpayer leaves, the shortfall is spread across every property in town. When a sewer customer leaves, the shortfall stays inside the sewer fund, and the only people paying into that fund are the remaining users.
NHPR's report on the closure announcement on December 11, 2025 said Anheuser-Busch planned to close the plant "early next year." The town manager told NHPR that the brewery contributed about $1 million to $1.5 million a year to the sewage budget and that losing it would significantly affect the budget.
A month later the town settled on a short-term plan. The January 14 budget minutes record it this way:
"Mr. Micali shared that the elephant in the room is Anheuser Busch leaving, as they provide us with roughly $1 million in revenue a year. However, without knowing what will be going into that facility, they decided to try to keep the budget as is and to use some of the fund balance they have in the Enterprise fund to help cover that shortage."
The same minutes say that leaving the budget unchanged would give the town time to "start looking at their options next year from the July period forward" and make changes in the following budget cycle. Bringing in more outside sludge for processing was raised as one possible source of revenue. The minutes say no plan could be set while composting legislation was pending at the State House.
The current year's sewer budget is being paid partly from savings. Rates have not been raised to cover the gap, and a new customer has not filled it. That bridge covers one budget year, and the next cycle is when the gap has to be addressed again.
What the Brewery Put in the Pipe
The brewery's wastewater also did chemical work at the treatment plant, and the town is now paying to replace it.
Merrimack's federal discharge permit, known as an NPDES permit, requires the treatment plant to keep its effluent between pH 6.5 and 8 before it reaches the Merrimack River. Town minutes note that the river is already considered impaired for pH. The plant's nitrification process, which converts ammonia to nitrogen gas, naturally pushes pH down.
For years, the brewery offset that. According to Town Council minutes approved October 8, 2026, Anheuser-Busch "used to provide significant alkalinity and pH adjustment due to their use of magnesium hydroxide in their process." With the brewery gone, the plant now has to add sodium bicarbonate and sodium hydroxide itself to stay within the permit.
| While the brewery operated | After the closure | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue to Fund 31 | Roughly $1 million a year, per the town manager | Gap covered with enterprise fund balance |
| Alkalinity for pH control | Supplied by magnesium hydroxide in brewery wastewater | Plant adds sodium bicarbonate and sodium hydroxide |
| Chemical feed equipment | 30-plus-year-old dry feeder | Up to $250,000 approved for a 1,600-gallon sodium hydroxide tank, feed pumps, a larger dry feeder, and SCADA monitoring |
The Council approved the expenditure of up to $250,000 by a 6-0-0 vote. Plant staff will do most of the work, with outside contractors handling the systems integration, electrical work, startup, and containment coating. Because sodium hydroxide is hazardous, the project includes a containment area, an emergency eyewash, and a shower. One councilor suggested briefing the fire department on the materials, and staff agreed.
Wastewater staff had already flagged this risk in January. They described the "Chemicals" line item as an open question because Anheuser-Busch would no longer be part of the picture. The brewery's departure cut the fund's revenue and raised one of its operating costs at the same time.
The Same Fund Was Already Under Pressure
The brewery gap is landing in a fund that already had rising costs. The 2026 budget minutes list several of them:
- PFAS testing. The new NPDES permit requires quarterly testing for PFAS and other compounds, which added a few thousand dollars to laboratory supplies.
- Energy. Electricity and natural gas costs increased, and staff said these are outside their control.
- Pennichuck Square pump station. Assistant Director of Public Works for Wastewater Leo Gaudette said sewer fees tied to this pump station have risen almost 70 percent since 2022. He also raised concerns that new home construction in that area could push rates higher.
- Debt on the $30 million Phase 3 wastewater project. A debt-payment adjustment added $17,319 to the budget, matched by $17,319 in user-fee revenue because user fees pay that debt.
- Capital work. The February 12, 2026 budget hearing listed $1.349 million in wastewater capital-reserve projects, including pH adjustment, manhole rehabilitation, SCADA, compost, and aeration and blower work, plus $700,000 for sewer infrastructure.
None of these items is tied in the minutes to a specific residential rate increase. All of them come out of the same fund the brewery used to support, and in a user-fee fund, costs that are not covered by savings or new customers eventually have to be covered by user rates.
Whether a New Owner Replaces the Brewery's Sewer Use
The obvious question is whether the property's next owner will become a large sewer customer again. As of this writing, the answer is unknown.
- December 11, 2025. Anheuser-Busch announces it will close the Merrimack brewery in early 2026 as part of a supply-chain restructuring.
- January 14, 2026. The town decides to cover the lost sewer revenue with fund balance and revisit its options in the following budget cycle.
- Late summer 2026. United Therapeutics Corporation buys the nearly 300-acre site. NH Business Review put the price at $47 million. Boston.com reported $47.5 million, based on deed records.
- October 8, 2026. The Council approves minutes covering the $250,000 pH equipment project.
United Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that already has a facility on Commercial Street in Manchester, is expected to bring hundreds of jobs. NH Business Review reported that construction plans, designs, and a redevelopment timeline have not been disclosed. A pharmaceutical and research campus could produce very different wastewater from a brewery, in both volume and chemistry, and the company has not said what it will build.
New users can also come from elsewhere in town. The Planning Board's October 20 agenda included a proposed 60-unit condominium subdivision at 29 Bedford Road and an amended site plan for final off-site sewer improvements. Those were agenda items, not approvals.
How This Shows Up on a Merrimack Home
For a buyer comparing Merrimack with nearby towns, the first question is whether a given house is on municipal sewer at all. Merrimack has both sewered and septic properties. The fund's finances only affect homes connected to the system, and those homes pay the sewer charge in addition to property tax.
The town's Merrimack Development Guide, last updated in April 2023, sets out a few basics:
- A home or building within 200 feet of a sanitary sewer is required to connect, with a waiver process that includes conditions for qualifying septic systems.
- Sewer fees are billed twice a year on the property tax bill.
- A $2,000 sewer connection fee is due when the connection permit is issued.
As for the fee itself, a December 17, 2025 Zoning Board meeting cited an annual sewer user fee of $357 per dwelling unit. The town's Sewer Billing and Rates page is the place to check the current schedule. Because sewer charges appear on the tax bill, a seller's recent tax bills show what a sewered home has actually been paying.
Merrimack's budget sessions for this fiscal year took place in January and February 2026. If the next cycle follows a similar schedule, the January 2027 discussion of Fund 31 is when the town will have to decide how to handle the brewery revenue gap beyond this year.
Quick Answers
Did Merrimack raise sewer rates because the brewery closed?
The 2026 budget minutes do not show a rate increase tied to the closure. The town covered the shortfall with enterprise fund balance and planned to reconsider its options in the next budget cycle.
Does the lost brewery tax revenue affect the sewer fund?
No. The roughly $780,000 in annual property tax is a general-fund matter. The sewer fund runs on user fees alone, so the roughly $1 million in lost sewer revenue is a separate gap.
Is the treatment plant meeting its permit now?
The October-approved minutes describe the $250,000 dosing equipment as the fix that will resolve the plant's outstanding pH violations.
This post is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. If sewer connection rules or fees affect a purchase or sale, confirm the details with the Town of Merrimack and the appropriate professional.
If you are weighing a sewered home in Merrimack against a home on septic, or preparing to sell one and want to explain its sewer costs clearly, Lawrence Home Group can help you gather the tax bills and town records and set out the choices calmly. Contact Us when you are ready to talk it through.
