BOSTON — As extreme weather becomes more frequent in Massachusetts, advocates and lawmakers are pushing for a bill that would create a more unified drought response to keep waterways throughout the state from drying up.

While heavy rainfall made headlines this year, droughts were a concern throughout the state during the summer of 2022. Thus, a pair of drought response bills were created on Beacon Hill earlier this year to create a standard drought response in preparation for the next bout of severe, dry weather conditions.

The bills’ presenters are Rep. Joan Meschino, D-Hull, and Sen. James Eldridge, D-Marlborough.

“These are like twin impacts of climate change, so although it feels like it’s been raining forever, just last year we were experiencing exactly the opposite,” said Katharine Lange, policy director at the Massachusetts River Alliance, an organization that works to strengthen statewide river policies. “We did have record lows, we did have rivers running dry.”

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Currently, Massachusetts municipalities each have different responses to drought. Some have more stringent rules on water use during periods of dry weather, and others more lax. Advocates say this discrepancy can crimp efforts to conserve water. 

“Currently, we just have a patchwork of permit requirements … and none of it is really effective in terms of drought management,” said Alison Field-Juma, executive director of OARS, a nonprofit that advocates for the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord rivers. “Otherwise, we’re just draining water when we need it the most.”

As demand for water grows, Lange said the legislation aims to reduce non-essential water use during dry periods and create a more unified drought response based on a region’s drought status, as opposed to the “town-by-town patchwork approach.”

Lange said the bill would also apply water conservation measures to all water users, regardless of whether they withdraw water from private or public systems.

“We’ve got a growing population who’s going to need more water, we’re building housing, all of that requires water, we’re building businesses that require water,” she said. “And we have these intense droughts, so it just makes sense to be proactive in conserving rather than reactive.”

Creating consistency in managing water use

Advocates emphasize that a key issue with drought management is the state’s inconsistent approach for how water is used or conserved.

“Some towns, it looks like a total water ban — no one’s watering their lawn for the duration of the drought,” Lange said. “In other towns, it’s like a Tuesday-Thursday thing, and other towns, they have no water conservation at all.”

More than 60 communities rely on water supplies from two sources — the Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs, according to the Massachusetts River Alliance. Lax rules can result in wasteful water use and add stress on those sources.

Other communities rely on public or private systems that draw from groundwater wells or surface water, such as lakes or reservoirs. This poses another issue, as water conservation measures often don’t apply to private wells during droughts. 

“There have been instances of residents’ private wells drying up,” Lange said. “Often, people don’t know that their water levels are very low until it literally runs dry, so we want to ensure that those folks’ water supply is protected, as well as the public water supply.”

Field-Juma said wells are often connected with one another as they each draw water from groundwater relying on underlying aquifers. Non-essential use of groundwater, such as watering a lawn, from one well can impact the amount of water left in a neighboring well. 

Field-Juma said wells can also be affected by a lack of rain during dry weather periods, as stormwater being absorbed into the ground helps recharge groundwater. 

“So much water is being either siphoned off by wells, or it’s in combination with not recharging (groundwater) because it’s going into storm drains and just getting piped out to the rivers and down to the ocean,” Field-Juma said. “We need to do it at both ends — creating more supply by getting stormwater into the ground and reducing demand during droughts.”

How do droughts impact rivers and waterways?

The Sudbury, Assabet and Concord rivers — historical, public waterways that have been designated as wild and scenic by the federal government since 1999 — are being threatened by changing climate conditions.

This year, rainfall and flooding caused river bank erosion; last year, droughts caused low water levels.

Anne Slugg, chair of the Sudbury, Assabet, Concord Wild & Scenic River Stewardship Council, said low river levels and extreme drought can have negative consequences for wildlife, water quality and recreational activities.

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Water flow is critical to diluting contaminants and pollutants in streams, but during periods of low flow, less water becomes available for such dilution, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Slugg said recreational activities are affected by drought as people are unable to canoe, kayak or use motorboats due to low river flow. Even birdwatching has been affected.

“We want to be best prepared for an uncertain future as far as when we’ll have a lot of rainfall or not a lot of rainfall,” Slugg said.

Field-Juma said she remembers taking photos of Nashoba Brook in Concord being “completely dry” during the state’s 2016 droughts. 

As climate change stresses aquatic resources and development of building continues, Field-Juma said it will impact biodiversity, loss of resilience in ecosystems, and access to clean water.

PFAS contamination during droughts

PFAS stands for Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are human-made chemicals that can be found in several items, including firefighting foams and moisture- and stain-resistant products. They’ve put extra stress on limited water supplies.

When PFAS contaminants are above established safety levels in drinking water supplies, communities are required to look for an alternative source. But implementing and building PFAS treatment can be costly and challenging, which is why towns are forced to immediately find another water source to support their communities, according to Lange.

But she said those alternative sources of safe and clean water can already be stressed from droughts, exacerbating the issue of water conservation.

“Unfortunately, we are finding (PFAS) pretty often in surface waters and drinking water supplies,” Lange said. “This is where PFAS ties in with drought where they can tie into places that are already being withdrawn from. So that’s putting extra stress on those basins and there’s only so much water in one groundwater area.”

Lange stressed how the drought management bill is a necessary preventative measure to help the state keep up with changing climate conditions, as well as avoid being unprepared for the next drought.

“Because we’re not in California or Nevada, we think of ourselves as a water-rich state,” she said. “(But) our laws, regulations — and certainly our behaviors — aren’t reflective of the severity of drought that we are starting to experience or continue to experience in the future.”