Board Calls For Level 2 Water Restrictions In Orleans

ORLEANS – Mandatory water restrictions were put in place last week by the town’s board of water and sewer commissioners, and more stringent restrictions could follow in the coming months. 

 The board’s chair, Ginny Farber, told the select board March 18 that earlier that day, the water and sewer commissioners unanimously voted to enact the restrictions to be consistent with the state Department of Environmental Protection’s declaration of a Level 2 drought for the region.

 “These restrictions are for properties using the public water supply and those using private wells,” she said, noting that both sources draw water from the same aquifer. 

 Starting May 1 and running through the end of the year, “all non-essential outdoor watering is restricted,” Farber told the select board during the board’s public comment period. As such, activities including the watering of lawns and gardens via sprinklers; watering via automatic irrigation systems; washing vehicles; and washing outside hard surfaces such as driveways, sidewalks and decks are prohibited.

 “The only exception to the list of non-essential water use is the irrigation of parks and recreation facilities,” Farber said. “This is allowed between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m.”

 Other water uses are allowed between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 a.m., including irrigation in support of a new lawn or plantings between May and September; the use of handheld hoses and drip irrigation for watering of “gardens, flowers and ornamental plants”; and the watering of lawns using a handheld hose. 

 Last year, the commissioners enacted Level 1 water restrictions before advancing into Level 2. But Farber said conditions warranted starting at Level 2 this year, adding that the expectation is that the town will eventually “have to move to a Level 3.”

 Assistant Water Superintendent Susan Brown told the water and sewer commissioners at their March 18 meeting that the water department received a letter from Mass DEP the day before announcing the Level 2 drought status. The restrictions approved by the commissioners are in line with those set forth by the state agency.

 Brown presented a map of the state to the commissioners showing that most of southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, is in Level 2 drought. A wide swath of central and northeastern Massachusetts, meanwhile, is currently at a critical Level 3.

 “That could be us if we have a dry summer,” Brown said. Conversely, Brown said that the restrictions could be downgraded or removed if conditions improve. 

Commissioner Lynn Bruneau expressed surprise at the current drought conditions, especially after last month’s blizzard and the rain that followed. But while there has been some improvement in the water levels, Brown said, the town has a long way to go.

“We are certainly lower than we have ever been in history starting off going into spring,” she said.

“I think that hydrology is a tough one to try and explain, that it takes years to bring back [water] levels,” said Mary Wright of the commission.

 Farber said residents will be notified in writing about the restrictions in their upcoming April 1 water bills. 

 “I just wanted to give everybody a heads up before they pay the money to hook up their irrigation systems,” she said.

 Chatham has kept similar restrictions in place through the winter and is expected to keep them in place into the spring and summer.