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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Greater Boston had a perfectly normal amount of rain in June. An exactly normal amount, in fact: 3.89 inches of rain, which is precisely average for June down to the tenth of an inch. So why do more than a quarter of cities and towns in Massachusetts have watering restrictions still in place?
97 cities and towns restrict watering with sprinklers as of June 27. Lawn watering with anything other than the garden hose is completely forbidden seven days a week in just over a dozen communities.
WBZ NewsRadio spoke to several water supply experts, who pointed to a specific state law that keeps sprinklers off in these places.
"Many of them are subject to a law called the Water Management Act," said Jennifer Pederson, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Water Works Association.
Pederson said many towns and cities covered by the law need to have water restrictions in place by May or June. The state looks for those communities to have a certain amount of water on hand, and if it doesn't, it can mean expensive fines for the municipality.
"It's really important to do what they're telling you to do...if not for water capacity, then to meet a regulatory requirement," Pederson said.
"The first Monday in June, we have to start our water conservation measures, regardless of drought conditions," said Doug Martin, Superintendent of Franklin Water & Sewer. Martin said Franklin is the largest groundwater producer in the state. According to Martin, the state says "we need to conserve and be good stewards of the resource we're pulling out of that basin."
The reasoning varied for other towns. Concord officials told WBZ NewsRadio that they were down to one water pumping station, so they had to restrict water use to make sure they had enough for firefighting and drinking.
WBZ's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) has more:
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