Water restrictions unaffected by drought conditions

Aug. 19—Southern New Hampshire and the Merrimack Valley have experienced record high temperatures over the last month. The extreme heat wave mixed with little precipitation has left the area with severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

While the temperature has eased, the U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook has predicted a drought will sustain through August.

While only a few local communities like Salem, New Hampshire, placed mandatory restrictions on water usage, most are following state guidelines or issuing voluntary advisories.

Rainfall totals compared to 2021 prove how drastically hot and dry August has been thus far.

According to data from the National Weather Service, Lawrence had a stretch from Aug. 2 to 9 when seven days hit 92 degrees or higher — and more that half of those days were at least 97 degrees.

There were only six days total in August 2021 that hit 90 degrees or hotter.

Lawrence has received 0.10 inches of rain halfway through this month compared to 1.51 inches a year ago, ending the month with 3.9 inches total.

National Weather Service meteorologist Stephen Baron said Southern New Hampshire has seen the same, insignificant rainfall; 0.10 inches so far this month compared to 2.88 inches during all of August 2021.

Baron said the severe drought conditions have become a pattern in recent years. He noted that while the current conditions are not as dire as 2016 or late 2020, "they've been very much a pattern of dry summers, but then we are able to recover somewhat in the winter."

While it's hard to forecast months ahead, Baron noted the Climate Prediction Center's three-month forecast does show precipitation to be slightly above average. and the upcoming hurricane season may also positively impact New England's drought conditions.

"We are about to get into the most active of tropical seasons so something like a tropical system could certainly pull us out of a drought," Baron said.

While most cities and towns in the area have not issued any bans, they are following state guidelines and monitoring drinking water supplies. Voluntary water limitations are suggested to conserve water.

Haverhill

Officials in the mayor's office said nothing is in place to limit water usage, but the city could implement a "drought watch" at some point.

Haverhill has an ordinance in place that monitors drought severity in relation to the water capacity of Kenoza Lake, the city's main drinking water reservoir.

"Right now, we're almost at the drought 'watch' level of 5%," interim DPW Director Robert Ward said last week. "I think we're in better shape than a lot of other communities as we have a more robust water supply."

Andover

The town does not have any restrictions at this time.

They have put out information through signage about reducing water use and residents have voluntarily complied, according to Town Manager Andrew Flanagan.

Flanagan added that even at the next step of their management plan, reducing water usage would still be voluntary.

"Nothing has had to be mandatory," Flanagan said.

North Andover

North Andover DPW Director Jim Stanford said water levels in Lake Cochichewick, where the town gets all its water, are below normal.

"We don't have actual figures, but if we continue with the same weather pattern, we will be between 5 and 10% lower than normal lake levels at this time of year," he said.

But so far, North Andover has only put out a voluntary advisory, asking citizens to monitor their water use, especially during times of peak usage.

"I will say this, because we did this last year or the year before when we put out these voluntary advisories, we do see a drop," Stanford said. "The residents of North Andover take it to heart."

Methuen

There are no current mandatory or voluntary restrictions in place, per mass.gov's list of current city and town that have reported restrictions.

Plaistow

Town Manager Greg Colby said the town has no restrictions because it does not have its own source of drinking water. Colby said the town's water supply comes from Manchester and there are no restrictions in place.

On Sept.1, Colby said that might change as they are moving toward potable water with the Southern New Hampshire Regional Water Project, but for now nothing is planned.

Salem

The Board of Selectmen adopted mandatory water restrictions for the town to sustain the drinking water supply in the current drought conditions. The restrictions went into effect last week and remain until Oct. 10.

Residents are permitted to outside lawn watering by sprinklers on odd numbered days only from 12 to 10 a.m. No restrictions are in place for hand-held watering.

Atkinson

The town has no restrictions in place for residential water use

Town Administrator John Apple said the town is following recommendations issued by the state.

He said they may decide to impose measures in the near future based on the conditions.