Dear fellow Hanoverians:
This just in from the Town! It had too much good information, so I just
had to re-post. In the meantime, Happy 250th Birthday, America!
“Town of Hanover Water Restriction Update 7/2/26
Community Conservation Remains Essential
As we head into the Independence Day weekend and another stretch of extreme
heat, we’d like to provide an update on our community’s water supply and
explain why continued conservation remains so important.
Our water storage tanks have now dropped below 100 feet, placing us back
into critical territory. With several hot days ahead, demand is expected to
remain high. We ask everyone to continue conserving water wherever
possible. While one small action may not seem significant, thousands of
individual conservation efforts across Hanover make a tremendous difference
in protecting our community’s water supply.
We’ve received many questions about Hanover’s water restrictions and why
they remain in effect. The information below helps explain the challenges
our community faces each summer. Hanover generally has an adequate water
supply during the fall, winter, and spring. The challenge comes during the
hot, dry summer months, when demand increases dramatically. During the
summer, our system regularly exceeds 1.5 million gallons of water per day,
with peak days reaching 1.725 million gallons.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) permits
Hanover to withdraw an annual average of 1.38 million gallons per day from
our groundwater supply. Although summer demand exceeds this amount, lower
water use during the rest of the year allows us to remain within our annual
permit. Exceeding that permitted limit would result in regulatory penalties
and could jeopardize our long-term water supply.
The current water restrictions are required under MassDEP regulations and
the Commonwealth’s current drought conditions. Their purpose is to ensure
that adequate water remains available for drinking, cooking, sanitation,
public health, and fire protection. They also help protect Hanover’s
groundwater resources for the future.
Not every gallon withdrawn from the ground is delivered directly to homes
and businesses. A portion of the water is required to operate our treatment
facilities, including filter backwashing, system flushing, and other
treatment processes necessary to provide safe, high-quality drinking water.
This “process water” also counts toward our permitted withdrawal limit.
The Hanover Department of Public Works continues to operate treatment
facilities at maximum capacity, enforce water-use restrictions, conserve
water throughout municipal operations, and plan and invest in long-term
water system improvements. In addition to managing daily operations, we are
addressing two underperforming wells that have reduced the system’s ability
to meet peak summer demand.
Work is already underway to rehabilitate one well, while engineering,
testing, and permitting efforts continue for the redevelopment or
replacement of the second. That project is expected to be presented as a
capital improvement for consideration at a future Town Meeting.
The single biggest way residents can help right now is by turning off
automatic irrigation systems, avoiding unnecessary outdoor watering with
treated municipal drinking water, and conserving water indoors whenever
possible. The use of automatic irrigation systems connected to Hanover’s
public water supply remains prohibited under the Town’s General Bylaws.
These regulations were adopted by Town Meeting and reflect the will of
Hanover residents. While enforcement has varied in the past, the Town is
actively enforcing these restrictions to protect our shared water
resources.
We’ve also received questions about new development and its impact on
Hanover’s water supply. Water availability is a critical factor in
evaluating future development. Zoning compliance alone is not enough for a
project to be approved. Projects cannot proceed unless sufficient water
capacity is available and state permitting requirements can be met. At this
time, and until higher volumes of water can be permitted through MassDEP,
larger-scale proposals would likely not receive permitting. Every project
application is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
As we celebrate Independence Day and our nation’s 250th anniversary, we ask
everyone to continue doing their part to conserve water, stay safe, and
stay cool.”
For more information, please go to:
http://atotw.com/maillist/lt.php?tid=LcchVoRXBTusEvAijxg8FW5j4ke3WQJIrnck4oynXh1oqLt7nDMYRqoN783ZLADJ
.
For “Around Town on the Web”,
Cathy H-B
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