Drought task force monitors North Shore water resources

SAUGUS – A state Drought Management Task Force is monitoring water resources along the North Shore and other parts of northeast Massachusetts following three months of dry conditions.The task force on Friday found that the situation warrants a drought advisory in two of the state’s six water resources management regions – Northeast and Central.The Northeast region includes all of the North Shore and communities that are serviced by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA).The task force has called for vigilance by state, regional and local water officials, especially concerning fire danger and water supply for firefighting.Saugus has been hard hit by brush fires over the past three months, two of which required constant firefighting for multiple days ? at Breakheart Reservation and along the Lynnfield town line.On Thursday, a Lynnfield fire lieutenant suffered a heart attack while fighting a brush fire in 90-degree heat in a wooded area of town. In June, Peabody firefighters with help from surrounding departments fought a massive combination brush and mulch fire that also ignited heavy equipment.The dry spell has been so intense that smoke from forest fires in Canada prompted dozens of phone calls to North Shore fire departments during the first week of June.During a meeting Friday at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) headquarters in Framingham, members determined that the second of five levels of drought conditions outlined in the Massachusetts Drought Management Plan had been reached.The levels are normal, advisory, watch, warning and emergency. The advisory level indicates dry conditions that require closer tracking by government agencies, mostly because dry soil conditions can allow fire to burn deep and spread rapidly to large areas.Task Force officials noted that while some smaller reservoir systems in drought areas are low for this time of year, the MWRA supply system is well within normal operating range. Some other public water suppliers have issued conservation measures in response to the dry conditions.The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and its agencies encourage residents to conserve water as a matter of good practice. Friday’s drought advisory may require that additional outdoor water conservation measures be implemented by public water supply managers and other permitted users as required by their water management permit.The state’s rainfall in the Northeast and Central regions has declined since May, with cumulative precipitation deficits of up to four inches below normal for the months of May through July. According to state officials, August rainfall to date is also below normal. Stream flow is extremely deficient in many areas of the state, even for this time of year when seasonally low stream flow is expected.Ground water levels have also declined, although these are slower to respond than stream flow to the rainfall deficit. So far this year, 86 municipalities have informed the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that they have instituted outdoor water use restrictions to conserve water.The task force is comprised of representatives from several state and federal agencies, include MEMA, EEA, DEP, Department of Conservation and Recreation, Department of Fish and Game, Department of Agricultural Resources, Department of Public Health, MWRA, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Weather Service.