Community Corner
Water Conservation Stage Upgraded
With near drought conditions hitting the country, the Westford Water Department increases water conservation measures.
Have you seen the Water Department signs around town? The water conservation level has been raised to “STAGE II – MANDATORY ODD/EVEN WITH TIME RESTRICTIONS”? This means:
“Odd numbered addresses must restrict outdoor watering to odd numbered days and even numbered addresses to even numbered days. Additionally, outdoor watering is prohibited between 9 am to 6 pm.
The filling of swimming pools is prohibited.”
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Remember how little it snowed this winter and not much rain so far this spring and summer? Well, that has caused a shortage in the water supply. According to the Water Department website, this decision was made based on monitoring of ground water well depths, storage tank levels and usage rates. With the hot weather, we tend to use more water for lawns, sprinklers for the kids, filling pools. In order to make sure we have enough drinking water and water for fire protection, these conservation efforts were put into place.
Massachusetts overall is experiencing abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. In fact, a good portion of the country is in some state of drought.
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This does more than affect your lawn. According to Elizabeth Almeida, owner of , “…the challenge is planting and germinating seeds for our fall crops. I need to start lettuce, carrots, and beets for the fall and all those need moisture to germinate…” Outside of the Northeast, the Midwest is experiencing drought conditions as well which is impacting corn production.
This has probably been the hottest, driest year in recent history. In 2012, there have been over 15,000 record high temperatures, but only 1,343 record lows. This information comes from Kevin Trenberth, a scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Trenberth shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on climate change.
Whether you believe humans are to blame for this climate change or not, the fact remains that our water supply has been compromised. Let go of your beautiful lawn. Everyone else’s will be brown too. As a bonus, you won’t get that huge summer water bill! For more tips on conserving water, take a look .
