Newburyport DPS Water Division announces mandatory water restrictions

Due to the prolonged drought, beginning Friday, August 26^th, the Newburyport DPS Water Division will be implementing the following mandatory outdoor watering restrictions.

• Restricted days: Outdoor watering by residents with odd numbered street addresses is restricted to odd numbered days. Outdoor watering by residents with even numbered street addresses is restricted to even numbered days.
• Restricted time of day: Outside watering is restricted to the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Municipal restrictions: Watering of parks, athletic fields and similar municipal uses is restricted to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the same time of day listed above.

Penalties for violating these restrictions shall be $50 for the first violation and $100 for each subsequent violation.

The following tips can help you use water wisely:

• Outdoor watering is by far the largest water use. Watering thoroughly, but less often, will promote deep root growth and more drought resistant lawns and gardens.
• Rain gauges should be used to limit lawn watering only to dry periods. Rain gauges can be connected to sprinkler systems and automatically optimize their use.
• Leaking toilets are sometimes hard to detect but typically waste large amounts of water. Dye tablets or food coloring can be used to detect seeping around the reservoir tank stopper.
• Reading your meter at night and then again in the morning before anyone uses water is a great way to detect leaks in your system and the amount of water your sprinkler systems use, assuming you have your sprinklers wisely set to come on early in the morning.

For more information, please call Newburyport Water Division at 978-465-4420 or 978-465-4466.