• Dry conditions prompting Worcester to impose water use restrictions

• By Nick Kotsopoulos
  Telegram & Gazette Staff

  
  Posted Jul. 19, 2016 at 9:53 PM
  Updated at 6:27 AM
  
  

  WORCESTER - With the city facing its worst drought conditions since 1999, public works officials are preparing to issue a Stage 2 Drought Warning Alert that will impose restrictions on outdoor water use.

  Paul J. Moosey, commissioner of public works and parks, told the City Council Tuesday night that his department will be issuing the drought alert "within a couple of days."

  He said the goal of the alert is to reduce outdoor water usage by 50 percent in the coming months by restricting such use to an every-other-day basis, based on the odd-even street number of properties.

  The commissioner said the water restrictions would not apply to regular indoor water use, such as for washing clothes and bathing.

  Fueled by the lack of precipitation this year, Mr. Moosey said the city's reservoir system is facing a "historic rate of depletion."

  On average, about 24 million gallons of water are drawn each day from the city's reservoirs. He said there have been instances this summer when the daily usage has spiked to as much as 30 million gallons in large part because of increased outdoor water usage.

  The commissioner said outdoor water usage represents about one-third of the daily total usage, with that percentage even being higher at times during the summer.

  Without any precipitation to make up for the increase usage, Mr. Moosey said it has left the reservoir levels far below where they normally are for this time of year.

  The city has had an on-and-off again Stage 1 Water Supply Alert since January. It was lifted in the spring when there was some rain, but it was reinstated in June when the city's reservoir system capacity fell to 85.3 percent, compared to the average June 1 capacity level of 99.7 percent.

  The water use restrictions during the Stage 1 alert are largely voluntary.

  "Right now we're very close to where we were in 1999 when we had a major drought," Mr. Moosey said. "The drier it has gotten the more outdoor water usage we have seen. A couple of days have seen as much as 30 million gallons of water drawn; that's an awful lot of water."

  If the weather pattern, with its below normal precipitation, does not change in the coming weeks, Mr. Moosey said there is a possibility that he will have to declare a Stage 3 Drought Warning Level next month, at which time the city would have to start buying water from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.

  But he said that would come at a very high cost to the city. He added that the last time the city had to purchase water from the MWRA was in 1999.

  The city has the ability to add up to 16 million gallons of water per day to its water supply system from the MWRA.

  But the pumping station that would bring that water into the city's water system also requires considerable electric power to lift the water more than 300 feet from the aqueduct to its water distribution system.

  The estimated cost to run that pumping station at full power for one month has been estimated at $1.3 million.

  Mr. Moosey said he is hoping that a decline in water usage from the Stage 2 restrictions, coupled with some rainfall, will enable the city to avoid having to call a Stage 3 alert.

  He said if the public works officials have to dip into the Water Division's cash reserves for the purchase of water from the MWRA, it could have an impact on the water rate for the following year.

  Mr. Moosey said public works officials will get into specifics about the water restrictions when the Stage 2 drought alert is formally issued. He said public works officials will also be meeting on a one-on-one basis with some of the city's major water users and institutions.

  The commissioner said he will also be looking for larger water-use reductions from municipal departments.

  Mr. Moosey pointed out that the year following the last significant drought in 1999, the city's water system rebounded to full capacity after heavy rains in the fall and greater than usual snowfall amounts.