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IPSWICH — The Town’s ban on outdoor water use is unlikely to be lifted “any time soon,” according to Water and Wastewater Director Vicki Halmen.
“The water ban applies to all municipal customers, as well as private well owners [and] commercial customers,” Halmen told the Select Board on Monday. “It applies to everyone. There are no exemptions. The only exemption is for harvested rainwater.”
The Water Department imposed the ban in May in response to worsening drought conditions.
“While the Town of Ipswich reservoir system is currently at full capacity, the region is experiencing a significant rainfall deficit. Therefore, the Water Department is moving the drought status from Moderate to Severe,” the department said when announcing the restriction.
According to Halmen, there has been a “little uptick” in customer water use this summer — from about 900,000 gallons per day during the winter months to just over 1 million gallons per day during the first week of July.
“We expect demand to increase as we get further into the summer with higher temperatures and less rainfall,” she said. “We obviously cannot predict what kind of rainfall we’re going to get.”
‘Dry up quickly’
While the town’s reservoirs — Dow Brook and Bull Brook — can hold about 75 million gallons of water, Halmen said they “dry up quickly.”
“People really, really need to be paying attention,” Halmen said. “Customer behavior is critically important as we progress through the summer months.”
She said customers can expect more reminders and increased enforcement of the ban throughout the summer, noting that the Water Department has already sent more than 50 “pre-warning” letters to residents who have violated the restriction.
“If they don’t adjust their behavior, we will proceed with the civil penalties, which are fines,” Halmen said. Those fines range from $50 to $300.
Although water levels in the Ipswich and Parker rivers — the town’s two drinking water sources — are higher than they were at this time last year, Halmen said that comparison is somewhat misleading because last year’s drought was exceptionally severe.
“All the indicators are confirming that we are in a drought, and it is here to stay for a while,” she said, adding that all of northeastern Massachusetts is currently in a “critical drought.”
“This isn’t just an Ipswich problem,” Halmen said. “We’re not just being mean and telling people not to use water.”
Impact of new development
Selectperson Linda Alexson said the drought has raised questions for many residents as new housing projects continue to move forward.
“We’re seeing this report, and yet we see large-scale construction projects — new residences with four bedrooms and three bathrooms — and we’re going to be seeing some really big projects come online in the next year or two,” Alexson said. “We only have so much water, so how is that going to impact us?”
Halmen said the department “thoroughly” reviews every proposed development but noted that residential water use has declined even as the town’s population has grown.
“We have enough water to supply any new developments,” Halmen said. “It’s the increased use and the more frequent and high-magnitude droughts we’re experiencing that are challenging, which is why we are pursuing a new water source.”
Since 2015, the Town has been pursuing a long-term effort to develop a new municipal well at the former Lynch property on Linebrook Road. Permit applications have been pending before the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection since 2019, according to the Town’s website.
