The Drought Isn't As Bad In Worcester Anymore

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester's holding a little more water than it has in the past several months. The city has downgraded its drought alert status to Stage 1 as reservoir conditions have improved, City Manager Edward Augustus, Jr., announced last week.

Worcester's reservoir capacity has made continued gains in recent weeks as a result of steady precipitation and reduced consumption. The reservoir system reached an overall capacity of 83.2 percent on March 1st - much improved, but still below the March 1st average of 93 percent.

Videos, signage, a list of current restrictions, as well as updates are available here

In September, the City Manager declared a Stage 3 Drought Emergency. Since then, the city's drought restrictions and water conservation awareness campaign have been successful in reducing consumption, said the announcement. For the month of February, average daily consumption was 19.9 million gallons, compared to the February 10-year-average of 21.1 million gallons.

"Our residents, businesses and organizations have done a phenomenal job of conserving water, and we need them to keep it up," said Augustus, Jr., in a statement. "We're recovering, but we’re not out of the woods just yet."

With the winter season, water use restrictions and recommendations are focused on preventing frozen pipes, leak detection and repair, and indoor water conservation. As spring arrives the water conservation message will refocus to outdoor water use. Educational materials from public works will continue to highlight these areas.

Photo via Shutterstock