I got this message from the town of Greenfield today:
In accordance with Commonwealth of Massachusetts guidelines, the City is banning all nonessential outdoor watering and water use, effective immediately. The outright ban replaces odd/even day and time-of-day restrictions implemented on July 18. This follows Tuesday’s “Level 3 Critical Drought” declaration for the Connecticut River Valley by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Residents and businesses are strongly encouraged to cease the installation of new sod, seeding and landscaping; washing of hard surfaces, such as patios, driveways and siding; and continue to follow the bans on non-commercial car washing and filling or “topping off” of swimming pools.
“Unfortunately, one rain event is not going to get us out of this situation and we must tighten our mandatory water-use restrictions,” said Department of Public Works Director Marlo Warner. “We’ve been politely reminding people about restrictions to this point, but given the circumstances, warnings and fines are the next step.”