Amid Drought, Fines Established For Violators Of Water Use Restrictions

Amid the ongoing drought conditions on the island, the Nantucket Water Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to impose fees on repeat violators of the mandatory water use restrictions that have been in place since June 20th.

Despite those restrictions, which limit all automatic lawn irrigation systems tied into the municipal water system to two days per week, water use on the island during the first week of July was at or near record levels, Water Department director Mark Willett told the commissioners during Thursday's meeting.

"Every day in July has been, literally since July 1st, at 4 million gallons per day," Willett said. "We're averaging 4.2 to 4.3 million gallons per day. Usually, we don't hit 4 million gallons until the first week of August. So, we saw August numbers over the Fourth of July. There was quite a bit pumped."

Meanwhile, Nantucket received only .21 inches of rain in June.

In light of those figures and the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force's declaration of a Level 1 drought on the island last month, the Nantucket Water Commission voted unanimously to adopt the following fines for violators of the town's water use restrictions:

• 1st offense: verbal and/or written warning
• 2nd offense: $250 fine
• 3rd offense: $500 fine
• 4th offense: water shut off
  

The Water Department can remotely monitor water meter readings from properties connected to the municipal system and will be able to determine if irrigation is occurring beyond the two days per week schedule implemented last month.

Willett emphasized that he had already been in touch with the island's irrigation companies and many of Nantucket's landscapers, and that outreach had already made an impact, but the fine structure is still necessary.

"I’ve never wanted it to get to this, but you can drive around and see it," Willett said. "A lot of people are doing the right thing, but some people, for whatever reason, are not. I don't know if they haven't heard about it, but it's hard to miss it. I'm trying to give the benefit of the doubt.

"We’ll read the meters, find out whose watering on what day, and if they’re out of the normal pattern they're supposed to be in, we’ll give them a call and give them a warning," Willett continued. Turning the water off after repeated violations "is the last resort. We don’t want to turn people off." 

Even so, the fines may not be a deterrent for some.

"We had a gentleman, and I'm not going to name names, who said 'just fine me, I’ll write a check, '" Willett said. "I said 'thank you for being part of the community'." 

Willett and the members of the Nantucket Water Commission emphasized that the island's water is actually owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is considered a state resource, which issues the town a permit for water withdrawal.

"If we aren't doing everything we can, we can be in non-compliance," Willett said. "If we don’t show a concerted effort to get this done, there could be a fine for me as the licensed officer for Wannacomet. We could get a notice of non-compliance (from the state). We need to make a real, solid effort."

As it stands today, the town's lawn irrigation rules amid the Level 1 drought restrict all automatic lawn irrigation systems to two days per week, between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. Exceptions include gardens and landscape beds using drip irrigation. Hand-held hoses and watering cans are allowed.

The town's schedule for automatic lawn irrigation systems is as follows:

• Odd-numbered street addresses: Watering permitted Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 a.m.
• Even-numbered street addresses: watering permitted Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 a.m.
• No lawn irrigation is allowed on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays.

The restrictions apply only to municipal water users. Private wells are exempt from these restrictions.

In addition to many private residences, the island's golf courses and its largest farms are all supplied by private wells, so they are not subject to these restrictions.

The state task force makes the drought declaration unilaterally by monitoring the groundwater level at a well located off Russell's Way. It has equipment that radios information about the groundwater table and elevation to the state task force. When it drops below 25 feet for more than 60 days, it triggers a level 1 drought classification, Willett said.

Thursday's meeting of the Nantucket Water Commission began with cheers in recognition of the steady rain that was falling that morning. But Willett acknowledged it will take a lot more for the state task force to lift the drought designation.

"Even with this rain today, and I'm happy it’s raining, but for us to get out of this drought, we’ll need several days of this," Willett said.

The drought classification can be lifted when the groundwater level at the well monitored by the state rises above the 25-foot threshold for 30 consecutive days.

The state monitors the groundwater level of the upper aquifer. Although the Wannacomet Water Company pumps most of its water from a lower level of the aquifer, the island's water withdrawal permit doesn't differentiate between the two, and the restrictions are automatic.