Beverly, Salem Residents Asked To Conserve Water Amid Critical Drought

— BEVERLY, MA — Beverly and Salem residents are being asked to conserve water amid critical drought conditions on the North Shore.

Salem and Beverly Water Supply Board Executive Director Alan Taubert issued a letter to residents saying that while the filtration is running at a "high-capacity daily rate to meet the typical summer demand" the request to watch water usage is part of a "best practice" for sustaining current and future healthy reservoir levels.

(Also on Patch: 'Multiple Fires' Close North Shore Park As Extreme Drought Persists)

Taubert's letter said that as of Aug. 10 the reservoir's water level was at about 80 percent of the capacity of the approximately 4.2 billion storage supply.

"While this is business as usual for the Board, we ask for your cooperation and diligence in regard to conserving water during this dry summer period," Taubert said.

Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill seconded Taubert's request on Friday.

"Given that our region is in a Level 3 drought — defined as 'critical drought areas ban on all non-essential outdoor water use" — we would like to share the following message from the Salem and Beverly Water Supply Board and tips from both the Commonwealth and the Salem-Beverly Water Supply Board on conserving water," Cahill said in a message posted on social media.

Those tips include refraining from watering lawns in areas under a Level 3 critical drought, minimizing landscaping water needs through "water-smart landscaping principles," including using mulch to reduce evaporation and moderate soil temperature and leaving grass clippings on the lawn to shade and return nutrients to the soil.

Residents are also urged to handwash cars with a bucket of water instead of a running hose, and cover swimming pools when not in use to limit evaporation.

More water-saving techniques can be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)