Water-use limits may cut growth
Dreams of sprucing up the downtown in Millis may be put on hold because of new water use restrictions imposed by the state, Town Administrator Charles Aspinwall said.
The state Department of Environmental Protection is setting new limits for towns statewide. Millis and other towns in the Charles River watershed area are being scrutinized, and one proposed regulation would cut the amount of water the town is allowed to use to 790,000 gallons a day from 990,000.
Aspinwall said Millis now uses less than 790,000 gallons, but the town used 836,000 until it patched leaks and installed more accurate water meters , thus discouraging waste.
He said he fears the town's demand for water could quickly return to earlier levels if new developments are built and, once the limits are reached, development could be blocked. At least one large residential project is being considered and a recent zoning change increased the likelihood of growth in the future.
``Our concern is not what we're pumping now," Aspinwall said. ``It's how we accommodate growth that is planned."
The goal of the limits is to conserve water so parched rivers and aquifers get a chance to refill.
Streams statewide are drying up. Experts say it's because towns are withdrawing large amounts of ground water, the water beneath the surface that feeds both the streams and drinking-water wells. Another problem is an increase in paved areas, which keep rain from soaking into the ground, and storm - water sewer systems, which carry rain far from where it falls.
Drinking-water supplies could dry up, experts warn, and wildlife could be threatened by dwindling streams.
Robert Zimmerman, executive director of the Charles River Watershed Association, said it is essential to conserve and protect water supplies.
``When you run out of water, that is a real limit to growth," Zimmerman said. ``We throw so much water away we're putting our aquifers, our drinking supplies, in danger."
So far, the Department of Environmental Protection has focused on setting water withdrawal limits for Northeastern Massachusetts towns along the Ipswich River, which has occasionally run dry upstream in recent years. Ten communities within the river's watershed appealed the permits issued by the department as too stringent, but the courts recently sided with the state.
The only town in the Charles River watershed that the department has issued a permit to is Medway. The permit caps the town's withdrawals at 65 gallons of water per person per day; requires leaks to be cut to 10 percent or less of total use ; and limits outdoor water use in the summer. Other towns along the Charles River expect similar conditions to their permits.
Millis has plenty of water, with six active wells in town. The town operates that many wells because two of four wells were shut down by contamination in the 1980s. Residents chose to both restore the contaminated wells and build two new ones.
The abundant water gives Millis the option of selling to other communities. Franklin has expressed interest in purchasing up to 1 million gallons of water per day, which could add $400,000 to the Millis budget. Those talks are on hold because of the possible state water limits.
Aspinwall said he is frustrated by the conflicting message the state is sending -- by encouraging zoning changes to spur ``smart growth" projects, while also setting water use limits that could block development.
Voters at the May Town Meeting approved a zoning change along Main Street ( Route 109) on either side of its intersection with Plain Street ( Route 115) that town officials hope will attract developers to the area around the Milliston Commons and the Ann & Hope outlet store.
While Aspinwall said he supports protecting the river, he believes other strategies that could protect water supplies, such as installing more accurate water meters and repairing storm - water management systems, are being ignored.
Zimmerman said there are no easy fixes. People must start conserving water now, he said, or most Eastern Massachusetts rivers ``will run dry in the next decade."
