Cambridge No Longer in a ‘Critical’ Drought, City Water Board Announces

The Water Board of the City of Cambridge announced that the City’s drought level has decreased from a level three “critical” drought to a level two “significant” drought status during a Tuesday evening meeting.

The drought status change comes after state officials declared a critical drought in the northeast region of Massachusetts in November, banning all nonessential outdoor water use and asking Cambridge residents to minimize all other water use.

Reservoir storage levels across the state hit a year-low in November but have been steadily increasing since then, according to officials, although water levels are still significantly lower than last spring. Cambridge’s reservoir storage contains 1,756 million gallons of water as of this Monday.

Water levels were only at about 30 percent capacity this fall — but officials pointed to reservoir levels during the 2017 drought, when water levels were at 10 percent of capacity in October but managed to reach almost 90 percent by the summer. Mark Gallagher, director of engineering and operations for the Cambridge Water Department and member of the Water Board, expressed cautious optimism that this year’s levels could follow a similar trajectory.

“As long as we continue to get average and hopefully a little above average precipitation, we can definitely get there,” Gallagher said.

Cambridge officials also announced that watering privately-owned trees is now permitted under level two conditions, which ordinarily bans nonessential outdoor water use but permits water of ornamental plants and flower gardens with drip irrigation, hand-held hoses, or watering cans.

Mark Gallagher, director of engineering and distribution operations for the Cambridge Water Department, announced the approval of the amendment during Tuesday’s meeting and said the City is “increasing the canopy” to help “cool the city.”

“In Cambridge, we have a program where we are strongly encouraging private property owners, including the universities and places like that, to maintain plants and maintain trees to increase the canopy,” Gallagher said.

The exemption for privately-owned trees comes under an amendment to the Massachusetts Water Management Act, which previously only applied to “publicly funded shade trees.” Other exemptions under the Act include water use for fire-fighting and pipe-flushing, public facilities like swimming pools, the production of food, among others.

The rest of Massachusetts — with the exception of the northeast region and Cape Cod and the Islands region — remains in level one “mild” drought status.

Massachusetts has equal chances for below or above average precipitation levels this summer, according to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center.

Gallagher said the City is working to increase residents’ awareness of the drought to continue to help alleviate drought conditions.

“We are working in City Hall and in the public information office. We’re putting out bill stuffers talking about drought levels,” Gallagher said. “We’re working hard to get the word out to everybody as best as we can.”