On Rainy Day, Worcester Issues Drought Alert

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester officially entered a drought on the first real rainy day many weeks.

Even after a months-long drought statewide — which is an "extreme" level in eastern Massachusetts — Worcester had held off on declaring a drought, which triggers water use restrictions.

But officials said Monday the city's reservoirs are now down to 72 percent of capacity, and declared a state 1 drought. That means Worcester residents can't use outdoor irrigation systems except between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. daily.

"According to Jay Fink, the commissioner of the Department of Public Works & Parks, even the return to normal precipitation would not prevent Worcester from remaining at Stage 1, or entering Stage 2, in the coming months," the city said in a news release Monday.

Every town surrounding Worcester had already put outdoor water restrictions in place. Towns like Millbury, Rutland and Westborough are allowing outdoor watering only one day per week between certain hours.

Worcester last entered a drought stage in September 2020 when the city's reservoir system dropped to 63 percent of capacity. The city had to shut down the Quinapoxet Reservoir when it nearly dried up to due to months of low rainfall.