AMHERST – Amherst is joining severalothercommunities in issuing a voluntary water restriction due to the minimal precipitation in recent weeks, meaning residents should not fill swimming pools and should only water their lawns every other day.
On Monday the town’s website posted an initial water emergency that is the result of a drought advisory from the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The restriction goes into effect Tuesday morning.
Peter Hechenbleikner, Amherst’s interim town manager, told the Select Board Monday that part of the problem is the recent lack of rain, the other part is that customers are using more water. Town staff are searching for reasons why use has spiked with most college students out of town, and are contacting the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College and Hampshire College to see if there are ways those institutions can reduce use.
A demolition project in which large amounts of water were being used to wet down debris is being blamed for some of the high water use.
Even with most college students away for the summer, the town’s daily water usage in June and July averaged 500,000 more gallons of water than Amherst’s historical annual daily average.
According to figures provided by Hechenbleikner, the town has pumped 3.25 million gallons per day so far this month, compared to around 2.75 million gallons per day in July 2015, which was at the historic average for the past five years.
The first phase of the water restriction is voluntary and asks residents to conserve by only watering lawns with sprinklers and hoses before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. Those living in odd-numbered houses should only water on odd days and those living in even-numbered houses should only water on even days. No swimming pools should be filled and any car washing should occur based on the same “odds and evens” schedule.
Should conditions remain dry and usage not decrease, Amherst may move to mandatory water restrictions and then impose fines for non compliance.
Mandatory water restrictions are already in place for residents of Northampton, Easthampton and Ware, with voluntary restrictions in Hatfield, Belchertown, Southampton and Whately.
Hechenbleikner said any additional restrictions must be implemented in a Select Board policy, which may be done at its Aug. 15 meeting.
That would be good timing, said Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring, explaining that Gov. Charlie Baker and the state’s energy and environmental affairs office may change the drought status for the Pioneer Valley from advisory to warning during that time.
“We may be bumped up and may be required to go into some kind of restrictions, which is why we’re shooting for the 15th,” Mooring said,
Mooring said the water from the Centennial and Atkins water treatment plants, fed by reservoirs in Pelham and Shutesbury, respectively, have recently been supplemented by bringing Well 4 on line. Well 4, he said, is being used three weeks earlier than usual, usually only providing water just prior to the return of college students.
“We’ve shifted earlier to a source we don’t normally use,” Mooring said.
Farmers are mostly exempt from the voluntary rules, Mooring said, but could be subjected to them if more significant measures are taken.
Though Groff Park’s wading pool has been losing water due to deteriorating concrete, Hechenbleikner said it will continue to be a place for children to cool off. He said he informed staff that the town needs to pay attention to both the water use and public health, with the pool serving as a place for young children to keep cool.
Amherst last imposed a water restriction advisory in 2007.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
