Rain Drop:

Even with drought alert, state cuts funding for 
key river gauges

By John Gregg
News Staff Writer

No heavy rainstorm came through MetroWest in the late-summer to give the algae-ridden Assabet River a good flushing. Echo Lake, the Hopkinton reservoir that provides Milford with some of its drinking water, is at its lowest level in at least a decade.

And water-usage in many towns was higher than normal into late fall as mild weather prompted more homeowners to continue washing cars and watering their lawns - needlessly - when they usually would have turned dormant and brown.

After an unusually dry 2001, state officials this week issued a "drought advisory" urging cities and towns to prepare for more water restrictions if winter snowfall is insufficient to replenish drinking-water supplies.

"This is normally when we are recharging our reservoirs and aquifers. If that's not happening, we could reach some serious situations fairly quickly in the spring and summer once water usage goes up," said Mark P. Smith, the director of water policy for the state's Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.

"I think our concern is less for today, because the winter is a low water-use time of year," he added.  And Kathy Baskin, a project manager and engineer with the Charles River Watershed Association, said the state alert was almost unprecedented for this time of year.

"It doesn't look good. Even if we do get a lot of rain, we have a lot to catch up to get flow back into the aquifers and rivers," she said.

Recently released numbers from the National Weather Service indicate what is driving the concern.

Just 36.2 inches of rain or snow fell in Middlesex County last year, 19 percent below normal levels. And only 35.5 inches fell in Worcester County, 22 percent below the norm.

Bill Simpson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, said some help may be on the way in the form of wet weather, but sprawl and increased water-usage are also factors to consider.

"Short-term, it's significant. People are using a lot more water. They are building these big, 5,000-square-foot mansions with four bathrooms, and they are not as water-conscious," Simpson said.

But a storm predicted for late Sunday may signal some relief ahead.

"After three months of at least 50 percent (below) normal, we're getting into a more active weather pattern, so we should start catching up to near-normal rainfall or snowfall events," Simpson said.

The snowpack is especially critical for replenishing water supplies, officials said.

"It would be OK with us if we got some snow. That would be almost ideal for the aquifer replenishment, because it would seep down slowly into the ground, rather than rushing off into the river like a big rainstorm would do," Baskin said.

Meanwhile, even as environmental officials are issuing a drought alert, the Metropolitan District Commission this week dropped funding for several gauges which monitor water flow along the Charles River in MetroWest and the Aberjonah River in Winchester and Town Brook in Quincy, according to Baskin.

MDC officials said the newly enacted state budget did not include the $96,000 needed to fund the gauges in a joint contract with the United States Geological Survey.

"If a funding source became available, we would immediately contact them and reactivate the contracts. It's not our intention to permanently shut them down but ... if the funds do not become available, there is absolutely nothing that we can do," said Brian Kelter, an MDC budget aide.

But Baskin said the monitoring of river flow provided critical information on water supplies and habitat, especially in unusual conditions.

"We'd certainly be in favor of it continuing, especially in drought conditions," Baskin said. "You sort of know what the limit is before you cause a disaster."

Another gauge along in the Charles, in Medway, remains in operation, but is funded by the town of Franklin because of a water-related permit, Baskin said.

And water flows are markedly lower in many area rivers. At a Dover monitoring station on the Charles, for example, the average flow since September has been 53 cubic feet per second. An average yearly flow - which includes heavier spring rains - is 343 cubic feet per second, Baskin said.

Julia Blatt, the executive director of the Organization for the Assabet River, said the lack of major late-summer storms hadn't flushed out the river, which is often covered with algae from excessive phosphorous loads.

And she said low flows could affect everything from wildlife habitat to recreational boating on the Assabet.

"If it keeps up, we're going to have real problems this summer," Blatt said.

At Echo Lake in Hopkinton, the reservoir for the Milford Water Co. is holding just 60 million gallons, compared to a total capacity of 400 million gallons.

While the lake is normally not full before the snowmelt, water company manger Henry Papuga said water levels are down about 12 feet, "which is pretty low," even for this time of year.

Milford has already begun buying water from Holliston to make up for some of the shortage. Papuga also said the mild weather in the fall had prompted people to keep their automatic sprinkler systems going, even though the grass would not benefit.

"If we do not get substantial snowfall and rain in the spring, then we will start the season with an outdoor watering ban," he said.

Concord farmer Steve Verill has also seen some problems from the dry weather this fall. He had to irrigate more extensively - and expensively.

Verrill even had to take the unusual step of watering his strawberries before he mulched the crop to make up for the lack of rain.

"We did more irrigating then we ever did before, but we got the crops," Verrill said.

Sudbury Water District Superintendent Richard Carroll, who has dealt with water restrictions in the past, said he had not seen any significant problems yet.

"It's the snowpack that really gives you your recharge, so it's yet to be seen," Carroll said. "Like I said, it's kind of early to yell 'wolf."'