Worcester Drought Restrictions Begin Monday

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester has declared a stage one drought, and will begin water use restrictions on Oct. 5 amid a region-wide drought.

Worcester's water supply dropped to 64 percent of capacity this week, triggering the drought status, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said on Thursday. The city's goal is to reduce water usage by about 5 percent.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Worcester County is in "severe drought" status — the southern part of the county along the Connecticut border is in "extreme drought."

The Worcester area got about 3/4-inch of rain during a storm on Wednesday, but rain has been scarce since the spring. The region is about 6 inches below normal rainfall levels for the year, according to the National Weather Service.

Starting Monday, water wasting will be prohibited in Worcester, which means residents can't operate leaky irrigation systems. Businesses should not wash cars and paved areas, according to a list of water restrictions published by officials.

Worcester's water supply comes from 10 reservoirs west of the city, and the two largest are the Pine Hill Reservoir near Rutland and the Quinapoxet Reservoir near Princeton. The city's emergency supply relies on a series of wells, and also the Wachusett and Quabbin reservoirs.

Forecasts indicate the Worcester area will be mostly dry over the weekend. There's a slight chance of showers Friday afternoon, and about a 30 percent chance on Monday, according to the weather service.