Worcester issues business guidelines for Massachusetts drought
Courtesy City of Worcester
City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. stands in one of the city's reservoir. During a normal year he would be 20 feet under water at this location.
With water reserves getting concerningly low and pushing Worcester to a Level 3 Drought Emergency, the city is asking local businesses to pitch in by restricting their water use.
“We seriously have to think down the road the next few months and whether we are going to have enough water to keep the city going,” said Phil Guerin, director of Water and Sewer Operations through the Worcester Department of Public Works.
That includes businesses pitching in and cutting back their water use by taking steps such as eliminating using water to spraying down sidewalks and cleaning cars on dealer lots, Guerin said.
“Right now having a dusty car is going to be a sign of a civically minded community member,” said Guerin, adding the city is going through about 25 million gallons a day. “The main purpose of a more rigorous conservation effort is about getting it to tick down slower.”
The goal will be to reduce water use by 20 to 25 percent, as the city’s reservoirs have been drawn down to 53 percent capacity as of Sept. 5 when they are normally at 82 percent, he said. Guerin acknowledged that there are some businesses that rely heavily on the city’s water supply and that these cutbacks are not about hamstringing businesses but getting everyone to contribute and improve the amount of time the water will last.
“We’ve got to plan for the worst, and the worst is we have 30 days of supply left and no sign of rain in sight,” he said, adding the city will soon have to begin drawing from the Quabbin Reservoir at a cost of approximately $1.7 million a month. “We’re lucky in that we have a backup system that gets us 16 million gallons a day.”
The guidelines for businesses are:
- Outdoor watering other than hand watering with cans is restricted with the exception of agricultural operations and athletic fields that will require an authorized variance from the city.
- Outdoor water use for cleaning driveways, decks, sidewalks, car washing or filling swimming pools is prohibited at all times.
- Reduce exterior washing of vehicles at commercial facilities such as automobile rental, sales and service operations, taxi companies, trucking facilities and commercial garages where less than 50 percent of the water used is recycled. (Exception: The washing of garbage trucks and vehicles used to transport food and/or other perishables may take place as necessary for health, sanitation, or public safety reasons.)
- All restaurants shall limit the serving of tap water to patrons except upon request of the patron.
- Identify and repair leaks on private plumbing, automatic irrigation systems and service lines.
- Prohibit the use of water for dust control.
- The use of water for construction purposes from designated fire hydrants under existing hydrant use permit shall be discontinued.
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