State Declares "Significant" Drought On Nantucket

The Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force released its latest drought designations on Tuesday, and Nantucket was moved into Level 2 "significant" drought conditions.

The island had been designated as being in a Level 1 drought since late June, prompting the town to implement water use restrictions and establish penalties for violators.

Nantucket Water Department head Mark Willett said the new designation will likely mean water use restrictions will tighten further on the island to prohibit all outside water use for those on the municipal system.

"It would be no drip irrigation, no automatic irrigating at all at level two," Willett said on Tuesday, emphasizing those restrictions would likely be in place through the end of September, after which the state would reassess.

The Wannacomet Water Company has been monitoring water use by those on the municipal system since July. While it issued warnings, no property owners were fined for violating the water use restrictions.

Just before Tuesday's announcement by the state, Willett had told the Current that continued drought conditions would likely prompt more aggressive enforcement in the future.

"The Water Commission is thinking about monthly lists of addresses that are not complying," Willett said in an email last week. "(And) Having people like you post it on social media. This winter we will be meeting with all irrigation companies and sending letters and emails to all customers. Communication will be clear before the summer season starts. If we are still in drought conditions next summer, we will be taking a more aggressive approach. Less warnings. Much bigger fines and posting properties ignoring the restrictions. This summer it did not work and too many people did not do their part to help. We are in September and still under the drought conditions from MADEP (Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection). Summer may be close to the end, but we are still dealing with people not complying."

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 on private wells, so they are not subject to the town's restrictions. However, the gold courses had other use restrictions mandated by the state and the Massachusetts Water Management Act. Those included a 20 percent reduction in fairway irrigation and a 50 percent reduction in irrigated roughs, including the driving range, clubhouse lawns, and cottage lawns.

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.

The state monitors the groundwater level of the upper aquifer, and 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.

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.