LYNN — The Lynn Water Sewer Commission on Monday urged residents to mitigate their water usage, citing drought conditions throughout the city and all of Essex County.
When WSC Water Superintendent Rick Dawe presented his drought findings, he said the city’s rainwater levels are about 15 percent below average for the last few months, and that the city’s reservoir capacities have been dropping about two percent every week.
“We’re trying to take a proactive approach in asking for voluntary curtailment from the residents at this time,” Dawe said. “For 30 years, we’ve had a rain gauge at the water treatment plant that’s been calibrated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. From March through July, the 30-year average is 19.25 inches of rain. This year, it’s 9.51 inches, so it’s less than half of the average.”
Dawe said current reservoir capacity sits around 59 percent.
“Normally, when our reservoir capacity hits 55 percent, we reach out to the public for voluntary curtailment, and then at 50 percent, we put limited restrictions, and at 45 percent, enforced bare. This year, it’s been such a dry summer, and we’ve been looking at everything that’s been going on with the other communities, and we’re looking to just start the voluntary curtailment period early,” he said.
Dawe said that the City of Lynn, along with its residents, should refrain from watering their grass until the water is restored, however, he said that splash pads should stay open as they keep children cool during the dry heat.
“We think it’s a good time to get the word out there to the residents that if they could, it’s time to start curbing their use of the water. We also reached out to the city, as far as the islands and the grasses, to cut back on the water there. Splash pads, however, where the kids need to keep cool, they can run at least until the end of the day,” Dawe said. “What we’re asking for is that they not water their grass anymore. If this is the kind of drought that turns dormant, then it will bounce back when we get rain again.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
