As summer continues to amp up in Salem, being aware of water conservation and drought levels becomes increasingly important for our community.
Over the last 2 years Essex county has been in near constant drought in varying levels1. On May 1st the Northeast region of Massachusetts, including Salem and the surrounding towns, was determined to be in a Level 3 drought2. Droughts are caused by heightened temperatures and decreased rainfall over a sufficient period of time. With climate change resulting in more extreme weather conditions such as droughts, it is especially important to be aware of what a drought means for water consumption.
How are Droughts Measured in Salem?
Massachusetts uses particular designations to mark the severity of drought conditions throughout the state, and Salem follows the same guidance. These levels range in severity from Level 1 to Level 4.
According to the City of Salem’s website3, these levels are defined as…
Level 1 (Mild Drought). All nonessential outdoor water uses are restricted to no more than one day per week, before 9:00 A.M. and after 5:00 P.M., except watering of ornamentals and flower gardens with drip irrigation, hand-held hose or watering cans may be permitted.
Level 2 (Significant Drought). All nonessential outdoor water uses banned, except watering of ornamentals and flower gardens with drip irrigation, hand-held hose or watering cans may be permitted.
Level 3 (Critical Drought) or Level 4 (Drought Emergency). All nonessential outdoor water uses are banned. Other restrictions deemed necessary and appropriate by the Director of Public Services or City Engineer may be implemented.
You may be wondering, what constitutes a nonessential outdoor water use? This includes watering a garden, cleaning a car, operating a sprinkler system, filling a swimming pool, or any other similar uses.
Hidden Water Use: Leaks
But while these are excessive uses of water outside of your home, there are also hidden water costs inside the home. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 1 trillion gallons of water are wasted nationwide by household leaks4.
To search for leaks, a good first step is to check your water bill in a cold month, such as January or February. If it appears elevated, there is a chance you might have a leak. Additionally, you can check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the water meter has changed, a leak is the likely culprit.
While limitations on water use can be a nuisance for homeowners, they are overwhelmingly positive. Salem and many other cities and towns rely on the Ipswich River for their drinking water, which flows to different reservoirs. If Salem consumes an excess amount of water during the drought, other areas will go without. This is why it is so important to protect the Ipswich River Watershed during a drought. To learn more about the protection of the IRW, check out the Ipswich River Watershed Association.
Ideas for Reducing Water Usage
The tips below are compiled from many different sources providing tips and tricks for reducing water usage. They are compiled from sources 2, 3, and 5.
There are many ways to reduce water usage in the bathroom. You can replace shower heads with water saving versions, shorten the amount of time in the shower, and try to reduce the amount of baths taken as well – kids excluded of course ;). You can also turn off the water while brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your face, and you can even put a brick or a full water bottle into the tank of non-efficient toilets to reduce the amount of water used per flush.
Ways to reduce the amount of water used in the kitchen can also be easy. Install aerating water faucets for sinks to reduce the amount of water flowing at once. If you have a dishwasher, use that instead of hand washing, surprisingly it uses less water and can save upward of 2,400 gallons a year compared to hand-washing. Also, wait to run the dishwasher until it is completely full to reduce the number of times it gets run. If you do hand-wash dishes, try plugging the sink or filling a large pot with water to rinse the dishes so you don’t need to have the sink continuously running – though make sure you don’t run the sink even after filling the pot!
To reduce water use for laundry try wearing clothes more than once – especially jeans and jackets, as they are designed to be worn more than once between washes. Also, wash towels less often, and if your washing machine doesn’t have a load size sensor, wait until you have a full load to run it.
For reducing water use outdoors, there are quite a few things you can do. Collect rain water in buckets or rain barrels to use to water plants or wash cars. Either place the buckets away from buildings for maximum rainfall, or under downspouts, drip points in rooflines, cars, outdoor furniture, or anything else that collects water that drips off in a certain place where you can put a bucket. Water plants using your rain water in the early morning or late evenings when the sun is not high in the sky to reduce evaporation. This can also help your plants not get burnt by the sun being reflected through water droplets on the leaves.
There are also long term ways to reduce water usage outside and help protect your community from drought. One is to plant native plants, which are plants that have evolved to live in our climate and hence require less supplementary watering and less fertilizer. Native plants also help the local wildlife, such as butterflies, bees and songbirds.
Lawns also need lots of extra water to stay green during the summer. To help reduce your lawn’s water needs, you can reduce the size of your lawn, cut the grass at a taller height, and mix clover and other mow-able plants in with your lawn. Cutting the grass at a taller height allows it to store more water in its leaves, and a mix of plant types can reduce water consumption.
Your lawn can still look amazing if you reduce your water use!
Footnotes:
- “Essex County, MA Drought Monitor” by SeaCoastOnline https://data.seacoastonline.com/drought/massachusetts/essex-county/25009/
- “Drought Status” by Mass.gov https://www.mass.gov/info-details/drought-status
- “Water Use Restrictions Notice” by the City of Salem Massachusetts https://www.salemma.gov/1196/Water-Use-Restrictions-Notice
- “Fix a Leak Week” by United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) https://www.epa.gov/watersense/fix-leak-week
- “Smart Ways to Save Water During a Drought Warning” by Karuna Eberl https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/conserve-water-drought-warning/