SUNDERLAND — With drought conditions continuing to impact the region, Sunderland has implemented a lawn watering ban.
Under the ban, set to expire on Nov. 1, all Sunderland Water District customers are prohibited from watering their lawns by any means.
“We’ve been watching our aquifer levels and they’ve been going down right along,” said Water Commissioner and water operator Fred Laurenitis. “They’re at the levels now where we’ve been before in dry years and we’re worried about it getting too low.”
The lack of rain, Laurenitis said, has kept the town’s aquifers from refilling to their normal levels, and any precipitation at this point would need to be sustained to make a difference.
Laurenitis said the water commissioners picked Nov. 1 as the cutoff date for water restrictions because that should be enough time for the aquifers to recharge, while also giving residents a concrete end date.
“We thought at that point, Nov. 1, lawn watering shouldn’t be an issue,” he said. “This should be sufficient as long as we get compliance.”
As of Aug. 9, the state has reported there is a “critical drought” in Franklin County. The state recommends residents curb all nonessential outdoor water use. For more information, visit mass.gov/drought-monitoring.
Prohibiting lawn watering is likely to be the most strict conservation order the commissioners issue, Laurenitis said, because they don’t want to limit watering of gardens as they are “important for people to maintain.” He said the commissioners will be placing signs and taking other steps to notify residents of the order.
“I think we’re going to be putting out some signs at various points in town and going to do a notification like a reverse 911,” he said. “Trying to reach as many people as we can.”
