The Lynnfield Center Water District, which at the beginning of May implemented routine seasonal water use restrictions, reminds residents that those restrictions still exist and are at Level 3. Restrictions are in place through the month, at a minimum.
Level 3 water restrictions mean outdoor lawn and garden watering is only allowed starting at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays through 6 a.m. the following day and is prohibited at all other times. Residents are allowed to use hand-held hoses and watering cans while this restriction is in place throughout the balance of the week if needed.
While it is September, the unseasonable and historic dry conditions, and minimal precipitation, have strained our groundwater well water sources and are now impacting our storage capacity and ability to operate the system to safe and required system pressures.
LCWD Director John Scenna recently reported that “the District is experiencing demand equal to the peak of early summer. These are daily usage and percentage increases we simply don’t have the infrastructure in place to consistently sustain, regardless of whether it is June or September. We have to also always be mindful of our ability to supply and maintain fire suppression.”
Restrictions are also triggered by withdrawal permits with the Ipswich River Watershed. Those permits use the streamflow level of the Ipswich River as a benchmark and the river has been below said benchmark for the last few weeks.
Scenna feels that “adjustments in watering cycles and cooperation from customers through this weekend and next week is how best to manage the demand v. supply struggle we are currently experiencing. Be mindful of the situation and make the effort to abide by adjusting watering cycles, intervals, and durations over the next week.”
