KEEP OUR TOWNS BLUE!
Protect our watershed's water resources!

Updated February 6, 2006

CRWA has been pushing the MA Department of Environmental Protection to protect the Charles River and incorporate the conservation conditions in the Charles WMA permits needed to ensure the Charles can be restored to a healthy streamflow.  DEP responded with a statewide WMA Policy basically mirroring the Ipswich permits and requiring offsets for increased withdrawal volumes.  

Once DEP began the five-year reviews of the Charles permits and the water suppliers understood for the first time that summertime use would be curtailed, there was a backlash by the suppliers.  They falsely labeled the science on withdrawal impacts “junk science” and called DEP’s actions “outrageous.”  Suppliers went to their legislators attacking DEPs’ Policy.  In response to heavy legislative pressure, DEP developed “guidance” to the Policy, giving suppliers a longer time to comply with the standar ds and enforcement forbearance.   In October, the Natural Resources Committee held a standing room-only legislative oversight hearing on the Policy. 

The Guidance was finally issued last week and the Charles permits will be the first issued under the Policy. 

We expect to see the following in the permits, with minor adjustments for individual towns:

• Requirement of 65 residential gallons per capita day use;
• No more than 10% unaccounted for water (meaning towns will have to tighten up their water delivery systems);
• Restrictions on nonessential outdoor watering (primarily, lawn and landscape watering); and   
• Performance of an offset feasibility study when a town’s withdrawals exceed a  “baseline” with implementation thereafter.   

For more information, read the MA Department of Environmental Protection's Final Guidance and Policy on the Water Management Act