WESTFIELD–The Westfield Water Commission announced Thursday that the city will be under mandatory water use restrictions, effective immediately.
Also known as a water ban, the mandatory water use restrictions will prohibit “all non-essential outdoor water use,” according to a handout provided by the water commission. The commission is now taking the next steps to provide mandatory information to all residents. The commission called an emergency meeting on Thursday to announce the ban and address concerns.
The ban comes into effect due to three separate underwater wells being put offline due to contamination with PFOA and PFOS–chemicals used for several manufacturing procedures that have been linked to several health problems–as well as the Granville Reservoir, where Westfield gets a majority of its water, continuing to drop in water level. Another well is also currently offline for repairs, but is expected to be back on by the end of the month.
David Billups, Westfield Water Resources superintendent, said that the ban is going to be in place “until further notice,” and when asked about when it would be lifted he said “it’s pretty fluid.”
According to city engineer Heather Miller, the Granville Reservoir, which is measured by the amount of feet the water level is from the spillway, is currently 8 feet below the spillway. The reservoir’s lowest point last year was just over 6.5 feet.
Miller said that these are the worst drought conditions the city has seen since 2002. When the city was in a drought status during that year, she said that there were issues with the water turbidity, which means that particulates were in the water and needed higher filtration. And if water reaches too high of a turbidity level, then water treatment sites have potential to be shut down.
Billups said that private wells are not currently affected by the ban, since they are under the regulations of the health department. However, he said that he expects the health department to follow the water commission and ban private wells from non-essential outdoor water use, as well. The announcement could come as early as tomorrow.
The water commission will be displaying public notices and using a robo-call system to alert residents about the ban. Westfield Police will reportedly be enforcing the ban, which is a $25 fine on the first offense, then $50 for each subsequent offense.
Examples of non-essential outdoor water use include irrigation of lawns, washing of vehicles and washing of exterior building surfaces, parking lots, driveways or sidewalks.
Restrictions will not include water use for health or safety reasons, water use by regulation, water use for production of food and fiber, maintenance of livestock or to meet the core functions of a business, according to the water commission handout.
