Medfield, area towns dispute DEP water limitsMedfield Press, Thursday, May 26, 2005 By Amanda J. Mantone Proposed limits on how much water local communities can withdraw from the Charles River are moving closer to reality, despite continued protests from towns including Medfield that the state-mandated levels are unreasonable. The new limits, first announced to town administrators by the state DEP on April 27, would restrict Medfield and surrounding towns to 65 gallons per person, per day. According to Margaret VanDeusen, deputy director of the CRWA, measurements for Medfield show they use more than 100 gallons of water per person every day, and that their use has spiked in recent years. Medfield began action against the limits in April, soliciting local legislators and requesting meetings with DEP. "We're listening and responding to inquiries," said Ed Ferson, program coordinator at DEP. "There weren't complaints, it's more of a dialogue." Medfield officials joined Norfolk, Franklin, Wrentham and Millis at a May 17 meeting with the DEP to express their anger at not being consulted before the changes were issued. "We had a pretty candid discussion of the process. I'm not sure a lot was accomplished, but they agreed the process had shortcomings and that they hadn't consulted with the towns," said Town Administrator Mike Sullivan at Monday night's Board of Selectmen meeting. "They said they hadn't consulted with the environmental groups either. The purpose of the meeting was to let them know how angry we were at not being consulted." Kate Bowditch, project director for the CRWA, said the state is preemptively mandating stricter levels on the Charles River because of similar problems happening on the Ipswich River. Towns along the Ipswich River are actually suing the commonwealth for not instituting withdrawal limits that could have prevented the river from running dry in the summers, a result of overuse that's having a negative impact on that watershed. "Things on the Charles are not that dire yet, but we want to make sure we don't get there," Bowditch said. "We have periods of time, when there's low rainfall in the summer, that there will be no water flowing over some of the dams. We're working with the communities to try and find solutions to this problem of scarcity before we get to the point where the main part of the river runs dry." Selectman Ann Thompson disputed that. "They say we're a medium-stress basin and have to worry about the wildlife and frogs, and they don't seem to care about the people," she said. "I think they've got to redo their figurings. I'd love to see them admit they were wrong." If officially implemented, which Ferson said the DEP hopes to do this summer, towns would have two years to comply with the new withdrawal requirements. Sullivan called it positive that the DEP has agreed to keep meeting jointly with towns in the Charles River watershed, but said he has little hope that the DEP will repeal the new withdrawal expectations as the towns are requesting. "It's the first time the towns have, in any way or fashion, stood up and said 'we want to be involved in the process.' This has just begun. I think it will be a long, hard battle," he said. "Who isn't for a good, clean environment? It ought to be an attitude of 'we want to talk to you, not fight you.' But they seem to want to fight." Reporter Amanda J. Mantone can be reached at 781-433-8354 or amantone@cnc.com. |