The Town of Natick has announced a mandatory non-essential outdoor water use restriction in light of the light rainfall totals so far this summer. In other words, turn off the sprinklers to help ensure there’s enough water left for public health and safety needs, such as fire protection.
As you can see, we’ve been doing our part, with our two-tone lawn of fading green and crispy brown.
Here are the specific rules:
Watering Schedule
- Residents and businesses occupying a building with an odd number street address will limit non-essential water use including lawn and garden watering to Monday and Thursday from the hours of 5:00 pm on the select day until 9:00 am the following day.
- Residents and businesses occupying a building with an even number street address will limit non-essential water use including lawn and garden watering to Tuesday and Friday from the hours of 5:00 pm on the select day until 9:00 am the following day.
- No non-essential outdoor water use Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday.
Non-Essential Outdoor Water Use Recommendation
- Water lawns only when necessary. Please be aware that a healthy lawn only requires a maximum of one (1) inch of water per week.
- Maintain your lawn at a height of at least two (2) inches. This practice will protect roots and retain soil moisture.
- Water is lost to evaporation when watering during hot days
- Visit https://www.epa.gov/watersense/watering-tips for additional watering tips.
Essential Outdoor Water Use Definition
Essential Outdoor Water Use shall mean those uses that are required for the following:
- For health or safety reasons;
- By regulation;
- For the production of food and fiber;
- For the maintenance of livestock;
- To meet the core functions of a business (for example, irrigation by golf courses as necessary to maintain tees and greens, and limited fairway watering);
- Irrigation by Plant nurseries;
- Agricultural operations as necessary to maintain stock or establish new plantings;
- Pest management;
- Wash equipment to prevent damage and/or maintain performance;
- Irrigation of parks and recreation fields
