Drought Classification Prompts Mandatory Outdoor Water Use Restrictions For Nantucket

Mandatory water use restrictions have been implemented on Nantucket on the first day of summer after the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force declared a Level 1 drought on the island.

"As our water withdrawal permit from MassDEP requires, restrictions on non-essential outdoor water use are now mandatory," the town stated in an announcement Friday morning.

The town will now be implementing the following lawn irrigation rules: 

• All automatic lawn irrigation systems are restricted to two days per week, between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., with the following exceptions: Gardens and landscape beds using drip irrigation, hand-held hoses, or watering cans are allowed.

• 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 allowed on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays.

In an interview Friday morning, Wannacomet Water Company director Mark Willett said the restrictions apply only to municipal water users. Private wells are not subject to the restrictions. 

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

Willett said there will be enforcement of the water use restrictions, as his department is able to monitor water use by those tapped into the municipal water system. 

"There will be (enforcement)," Willett said. "I've called all the irrigation companies, and they've been great. They'll be talking to their customers. We can read the meters pretty quickly here and flag it. If we see someone with 500 or 1,000 gallons of water use from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. in the morning, that's irrigation use. We can flag those accounts and give people a call, give them a warning, and a chance to get out of that. Hopefully, we don't get into a place where we have a fine system."

After a somewhat rainy spring, island residents may be scratching their head about the drought declaration, but Willett said it was the culmination of several years of reduced rainfall overall.

"Last summer I think it was under three or four inches of rain," Willett said. "We've had a wet spring, but I think this is the culmination of the three or four dry years coming into this."

The state makes the drought declaration unilaterally by monitoring the groundwater level at a well located of 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.

"If we don't get any rain, we might be in it for an extended period of time," Willett said. "But they will be monitoring it daily."

The state monitors the groundwater level of the upper aquifer, and even though 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 the two, and the restrictions are automatic. 

"We've got a lot of water - but this is the level of the groundwater," Willett said. "They're. measuring from the upper aquifer. We're pumping from the lower one. We've tried to meet with them to explain the separation, but it's just part of the permit. We want to do the right thing and protect the resource and manage it the right way. We're doing everything we're supposed to do."

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. Willett said it's too early to say whether the restrictions will impact upcoming events, like the Fourth of July water fight on Main Street.