Common-Sense Outdoor Watering Restrictions During Droughts Withstand Legal Challenge (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 17, 2025

Contact: Stefan Geller, Senior Communications Manager

Email: sgeller@crwa.org

BOSTON, MA — The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on December 11 declined to take up an appeal filed by water suppliers, challenging state regulators’ authority to limit non-essential outdoor watering during periods of drought, defending a critical tool to protect rivers and streams from running dry. 

“The state’s highest court correctly decided that these drought regulations will stand,” said Emily Norton, executive director of Charles River Watershed Association. “In recent years, droughts have caused areas of our rivers across the state to run bone dry, devastating fish, amphibians, reptiles, and macro-invertebrate populations. The lower courts recognized the absolute necessity of common-sense water conservation measures to protect human and nonhuman life alike.”

The decision comes after two lower court decisions upholding the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s (MassDEP) authority under the state Water Management Act to restrict non-business-related lawn watering during times of declared drought. Prior to the enactment of these common-sense regulations, the plaintiffs in the case were free to set their own restrictions during declared droughts—or to do nothing at all. 

While MassDEP has always been able to require these types of conservation measures from water suppliers that obtain permits from the agency, registered water suppliers—those whose approvals to withdraw water pre-date the current law—had asserted that their withdrawals were exempt from such regulation. 

CRWA intervened in the case in 2023 to defend the regulations, which are necessary to ensure the equitable and sustainable management of water resources in Massachusetts. 

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Charles River Watershed Association’s mission is to protect, restore, and enhance the Charles River and its watershed through science, advocacy, and the law. CRWA develops science-based strategies to increase resilience, protect public health, and promote environmental equity as we confront a changing climate.

Harley Racer of the law firm Rich May, P.C. represented CRWA in the case.