LYNN — The city announced a water ban yesterday due to the regional drought and low water supply.
The city’s water supply is at 44.5 percent of its 4.2 billion gallons of water capacity, Lynn Water and Sewer Commission Executive Director Dan O’Neill said.
The LWSC Water and Conservation Policy and Drought Management Plan mandates the city to issue a mandatory water restriction, he continued.
This includes no outdoor water use for residents, the Department of Public Works shutting down all park flower bed sprinklers, the golf course limiting its watering to only the green, water hydrants only being used for firefighting purposes, and the LWSC repairing all leaks immediately, O’Neill said.
The drought level for the northeast region of the Commonwealth has reached level three – out of four levels – labeled as a Critical Drought, according to the Commonwealth’s website, last updated on Nov. 7.
In the month of October, rainfall across the state mostly fell between 0.25 inch to 1.5 inches with a few areas a little higher, according to a press release from the Commonwealth’s Drought Management Task Force.
This has been the eighth driest October on record over the past 130 years, according to Drought.gov. Rainfall is down 2.38 inches from the average. The site also reports this as the second driest October for the Commonwealth on record since 1895.
The LWSC is continuing to monitor the city’s water supply and drought levels across the Commonwealth, O’Neill said.
