Extreme drought is effecting more than half of Massachusetts. It is up to all of us to do our part and conserve water. We are all connected, help your neighbors!

If you haven’t noticed, lush green lawns are out of fashion (and out of season). Even if you have your own well, it is part of the same water table we all share. Please preserve our water supply for essential usage, like drinking, and be mindful when washing and bathing. Find out about watering restrictions in your town, and please remember: lawns are NOT essential!

Drought information for your area:

• MassDEP > Municipal Water Use Restrictions
• MassDCR > Drought Management
• U.S. Drought Monitor

Conservation tips:

• DCR Office of Water Resources: Tips for saving water outdoors and indoors

Upcoming event on Saturday, September 24:

• Open Forum on Water Supply Distress hosted by Rep. Tom Calter – September 24, 2016

Food for thought:

• The Case Against the American Front Lawn by Catrin Morris, 2011
• How America’s Most Useless Crop Also Became Its Most Commonly Grown One by Ria Misra, 2015
• Looking for Lawns by Rebecca Lindsay, 2005

Jones River flow status:

USGS data from September 16, 2016 12:15 PM

• Flow is at 1.7cfs
• This is the lowest flow ever recorded for this date (9/16) since USGS started measuring the Jones in 1966. It is the 10th lowest flow ever recorded for any date.
• Most of the 9 lower flows were in the extreme drought of 1966. According to USGS the 1961-69 drought was the most severe on record for Massachusetts.
• This year flow has been under 5cfs for 55 days. This is the longest ever record of extremely low flows in a single year (and we are only in Sept). The only year that comes close to this is the extreme drought year of 1981 when the river was under 5 cfs for 51 days. However, even during the extreme drought of the 1980s the river flows did not go as low as they are right now.