New Study Documents New Sources of Water Withdrawals in Ipswich Basin

A recently released study by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) estimated that millions of gallons of unaccounted for water per day are being used in the Ipswich River watershed in the summer that are exempt from any regulation and that this category of use is growing.  These withdrawals consist mostly of private withdrawals that fall under the state regulatory threshold of 100,000 gallons per day and are exempt from regulation under the Water Management Act. These include private wells, surface and groundwater withdrawals from farms & nurseries, irrigation wells for lawns, athletic fields and golf courses and small private water systems. 

The study documented that more than 2000 private wells have been installed just since the year 2000, mostly in towns that have water restrictions indicating that these restrictions may be incentivizing their installation. Moreover, these withdrawals may have an inordinately larger impact since the vast majority of these withdrawals occur in the summer when the river is most stressed. Add to that, this increased use is mostly for irrigation and most is from groundwater which is the lifeblood of rivers.  Water used in irrigation systems does not returns to the water system it was drawn from, in fact much of the water simply evaporates.

“We knew that these withdrawals existed but we had no independent data on how many and how much water they used,” says Executive Director Wayne Castonguay. “Now that we have this information, we hope it will help make the case that all water withdrawals large and small collectively have a big effect and everyone needs to be brought under the regulatory umbrella. Not only do these withdrawals further stress the river, its a simple matter of fairness.”   

The study helps to buoy needs long advocated for by the Association including:

• All water withdrawals should be regulated and meet basic water conservation standards;
• All withdrawals should be subject to water restrictions during droughts;
• Local towns should regulate private wells;
• Since all water is connected, all withdrawals should be treated the same. 

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