LAW, ADVOCACY & POLICY

Water Banking Legislation

Testimony of Margaret Van Deusen Charles River Watershed Association

Before the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Re: SB 543 An Act to encourage and promote water conservation

November 7, 2005

I am the Deputy Director and General Counsel to the Charles River Watershed Association, a non-profit environmental organization with over 5000 members whose mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance the health, beauty and accessibility of the Charles River and its watershed. I am testifying in favor of SB 543, which authorizes municipalities and water suppliers to establish water-banking programs. Although entitled "An Act to encourage and promote water conservation," this bill seeks to promote and ensure the long-term sustainability of all our water resources for their various uses-water supply, ecosystem health (for fisheries, aquatic habitat, and water quality), recreation and wetlands, to name some of these uses. The principle underlying it is to save or retain in the basin at least two gallons of water for every gallon of new water demand. One of the concerns expressed by water suppliers as groundwater supplies dwindle and the Department of Environmental Protection tries to achieve a balance, as it is required to do, among competing water uses under the Water Management Act, is that DEP water conservation requirements to be included in water withdrawal permits will prevent communities from growing. The reality in eastern Massachusetts is, however, that without such measures and approaches that will "keep water local" by putting it back in the ground close to where it was withdrawn, we will continue to experience water shortages, particularly in the summer time when demand is high and almost no water is returned to the aquifers. Doing nothing, or at best maintaining the status quo, will certainly constrain growth and future economic development, as well as eco- tourism, a growing sector in our economy, that is impacted by dry rivers and streambeds such as occurs in the upper 1/3rd of the Ipswich River every other year or so. The good new is that we can do something about this. This bill clarifies the authority of municipalities, water boards and districts to establish water banking programs by assessing reasonable fees to be used exclusively to mitigate/offset the impacts of water withdrawals and other activities on streamflow and groundwater. It creates a tool that municipalities can use at their option to help meet existing water demand and to ensure water is available in the future, as well as to protect and restore rivers and streams. The bill builds in flexibility so that towns can tailor banking programs that best fit their needs; it does not require municipalities to establish water-banking programs. The bill also amends G.L. c. 40, § 39J to make it clear that measures to enhance the quantity of ground and surface waters may be included in the full cost pricing of water supply by municipalities. Key provisions are:

1) Authority to assess a reasonable fee to perform mitigation measures; 2) Mitigation measures can include water conservation or keeping water within a basin through recharge, etc.; 3) The fee must be deposited in a dedicated account and used only to accomplish the mitigation; and 4) The amount of the fee should be based on the cost of saving or keeping within basin at least two gallons for every gallon of new water demand.

The bill will provide municipalities with the confidence to go forward with water-banking. The concept is closely akin to I/I removal programs (in which stormwater and clean groundwater enter cracked and leaky sewer pipes, and are exported out-of-basin) are already in widespread use throughout the Commonwealth, in which the developer removes four or more gallons of I/I for every gallon of projected wastewater in order to create capacity in the wastewater system. The Town of Weymouth's experience with water banking in its simplest form has been very successful. For a number of years Weymouth was exceeding its authorized water withdrawal volume; it also routinely imposed restrictions and bans on summertime outdoor water use. As a result of an enforcement action and administrative consent order with DEP, Weymouth established a banking program, which applies to new customers and existing ones seeking to increase water use, for example through the addition of a bedroom or a commercial process. It requires that for every gallon of new demand, two gallons of water, or a 2:1 water savings be achieved. Projected water use is based on Title 5 flows. Originally, under Weymouth's Water Use Permit Program, permit applicants had to achieve the water savings through retrofitting of older businesses and residences with low-flow household devices, such as toilets, or for businesses, modifying water use practices and processes to create the required savings. In 2000, the program was expanded to give applicants the option of paying a $10.00 per gallon mitigation fee in lieu of performing the actual work, The fee is held in a dedicated Water Conservation Fund, which is used by the Town to achieve the requisite mitigation. Water savings in excess of 2:1 savings are "deposited" in the water bank for the Town's use. There is a hardship exemption available for individual homeowners; affordable housing developments under M.G.L. c. 40B are subject to the fee. The Fund, which has also been used to install rain sensors on automatic irrigation systems, has enabled Weymouth to stay within its authorized withdrawal volume, to accommodate new growth and water demand, and to implement an aggressive water conservation program. Developers will find it more and more difficult to build in water-short communities. A water-banking program provides with certainty that a project will be approved if they pay a fee (or do the work themselves, depending on the program), which in turn creates capacity in the water supply. A diverse group of stakeholders sat on the state's recent Water Policy Task Force and we agreed that water banking was a useful tool. Both the Task Force's Report and the new state Water Conservation Standards (currently in draft), support the establishment of water banking programs. CRWA strongly supports SB 543 and urges you to report the bill out favorably.

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