AMHERST — Large electronic billboards and smaller printed signs reminding visitors, residents and college students about a mandatory water ban in Amherst are part of an informational campaign that appears to be working.
The ban was put in place Aug. 19 by Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek, then the acting interim town manager. It is designed to protect the amount of water available in the reservoirs and aquifers that provide Amherst’s drinking water.
So far, the ban appears to be having the desired effect of reducing the peak demand, which occurs annually in September into October, the months when campuses reopen at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College and Hampshire College.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said in an email Friday that the town’s efforts, along with work being done on the campuses, by residents and in the business community, is working.
“Water usage went up over the (Labor Day) weekend, as expected with thousands of students returning to town accompanied by their parents/guardians,” Bockelman said. “But water use was significantly lower than a year ago.”
While the average month the town pumps 2.94 million gallons of water each day, this typically goes up to 3.49 million gallons per day in September, and down to 3.2 million gallons per day in October. Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring said the move-in of college students did not see the substantial spike in water use that occurred in 2015.
The level of water use since students returned “was good, very good,” Mooring said.
UMass is the biggest user of water, with an estimated 45 percent to 50 percent of all water consumed in Amherst going to the campus.
Mooring said his staff is still tallying water use this week, and trying to determine whether the early good trend continued.
Bockelman said this appears to be the case. “Usage continues to track, with the water ban in place, below the average use, which is very good news,” Bockelman said.
The ban, prompted by the prolonged drought and no foreseeable precipitation, prohibits residents from watering lawns, filling swimming pools and washing their vehicles.
Officials are expected to update the Select Board on water restrictions when it meets Monday.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.