WATER QUALITY

Sustainable Water Resources Project -
Water Banking Fact Sheet and Legislation

Information provided by The Nature Conservancy and Environmental League of Massachusetts.

An Act Relative to Water Supply and Conservation Measures

What does this Bill do?

The bill clarifies the authority of municipalities, water boards and districts at their option to create "Sustainable Water Resource Funds" by assessing reasonable fees to be used exclusively to fund projects that will offset the impacts of increased withdrawals and protect public waters supplies. If fee-based, the fee must be “reasonable” and may be based on the cost of saving or keeping within basin at least two gallons for every gallon of new water demand.

Banking can help municipalities undertake projects to meet existing water demand and ensure that water is available for future growth and development, as well as protect and restore our rivers and streams. The bill builds in flexibility so that towns can tailor banking programs to fit their needs.

• The bill allows the Water Resource Fund to be used for water return or preventing water loss by any means, including:
• Local recharge of stormwater and wastewater;
• Reuse of water;
• Removal of infiltration and inflow into leaky sewer pipes; and
• Retrofitting existing development with low impact development methods, or water-saving toilets, faucets and appliances.

The bill also enables municipalities, including public water districts, to regulate the use of private wells consistent with controls for public water supply use for irrigation.  Private wells are proliferating in many places in response to public water suppliers tightening restrictions on lawn watering.  Conservation measures are undermined when private irrigation wells are drilled into the same aquifer relied upon by the public water supplier.  This can lead to a reduction in the safe yield of the public water supply sources, placing public health and safety in jeopardy. 

For more information, contact Nancy Goodman at ngoodman@environmentalleague.org, (617) 742-2553, or Deirdre Menoyo at dmenoyo@mac.com.   

AN ACT RELATIVE TO
WATER SUPPLY AND CONSERVATION MEASURES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1.  Section 16 of chapter 21 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking the phrase following the words "appropriate local authority" in its entirety and replacing with the following phrase:- in any city, town or water district from requiring any person engaged in the digging or drilling of private wells, or any person operating such wells, to obtain a site permit and abide by other restrictions on the operation of such wells in accordance with terms and conditions which ensure health, safety and protection of the public water supply, wetlands, waterways and aquatic life, and said city or town may charge said person a reasonable fee for said site permit as determined by the city or town.

SECTION 2. Section 39J of chapter 40 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the words "all related costs of police and fire protection," in line 15, the following words:- “all costs or measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of the water supply,”.

SECTION 3. Chapter 40 is hereby amended by inserting after section 39L the following new section:-

Section 39M. Establishment of Sustainable Water Resource Fund.

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a city, town, board of water commissioners, officers performing like duties, or water district having a water supply or water distribution system may collect a reasonable fee to be used exclusively to remedy and offset the impacts of water withdrawals and other activities that deplete streamflow or impair recharge to ground waters, and to sustain the quantity, quality and ecological integrity of waters of the commonwealth. Such measures for water return or preventing water loss include without limitation, local recharge of stormwater and wastewater, reuse of water, removal of infiltration and inflow, and water savings achieved by retrofitting existing development with low impact development methods or water-saving devices. The fee, which may be based on retaining within the basin or saving at least two gallons for every gallon of new water demand, shall be assessed in a fair and equitable manner, and separate uniform fees may be established for residential and commercial uses. All such fees shall be deposited in a separate account classified as a "Sustainable Water Resource Fund." This Fund shall not be used for any purpose not provided in this section.

SECTION 4.  Section 39K of chapter 40 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking subsection (a) in its entirety and replacing it with the following:-

Section 39K. (a) Any city, town, or water supply district which accepts the provisions of this section either by a majority vote of the city or town council, by majority vote at an annual town meeting, or by majority vote of a district board may establish a drinking water protection district to include all or part of said city, town or district, or in conjunction with at least one other city, town or district sharing a common drinking water resource, including but not limited to an aquifer, a recharge area or a watershed. Said drinking water protection district shall be for the purposes of water conservation, resource management and protection, and resource planning of drinking water supplies in said district including (but not limited to) public wells, private wells, and reservoirs, watersheds and aquifers which may be located in more than one such city or town.

The drinking water protection commission shall be composed of two members from each municipality or water supply district in said drinking water protection district to be appointed by the mayor of a city or the board of selectmen of a town or a board of a water district for a term of three years.

Each city, town or water supply district in said drinking water protection district shall adopt a pricing system which charges all users of public or private water supplies within said city, town or water supply district for protection of water resources. Said pricing system shall not impose a charge in excess of ten percent of the annual cost of water as charged by metered service or fixed rate. If service is without meters or if the water supply is private, a flat fee may be charged; provided, however, that such flat fee shall not exceed ten percent of the average annualized residential or commercial metered use whichever is applicable in such city or town; and provided, further, that in a city or town without a public water system a flat fee to be established by a majority vote of an annual town meeting, town council, city council or water supply district, whichever is applicable shall be charged.

Such charges or fees collected under the provisions of this section shall be forwarded to the drinking water protection commission which shall deposit the same in the Drinking Water Protection Fund established under subsection (b).

SECTION 5. (a)  Section 39K of said chapter 40 of the General Laws is hereby further amended by striking, in subsection (b), second paragraph, the following phrase: "to a city or town" and replacing it with the following:- "to a city, town or water supply district"

(b)        Section 39K of said chapter 40 of the General Laws is further amended by adding, in subsection (c), the following:- (9) restrict the siting, establishment and/or operation of private wells located within the drinking water protection district where any such well is deemed to adversely affect the district's ability to provide sufficient water supply to meet the essential potable or fire protection needs of its service population.