Water restrictions in Lowell, MA — also called the watering schedule, outdoor irrigation rules, or drought ordinance — set which days and hours you can run sprinklers or irrigation.
Lowell has no year-round watering ban, but Code of Ordinances Chapter 272, Part 5 (Restrictions on Use of Water, sections 272-101 through 272-106) lets the Lowell Regional Water Utility declare a state of water supply conservation and impose odd/even-day watering, watering hours, a full outdoor watering ban, pool-filling bans, or a ban on automatic sprinklers. Massachusetts state law (MGL c. 40, sec. 41A) independently authorizes water authorities to restrain water use during a declared drought emergency.
Lowell's local water-restriction authority is codified at Chapter 272 (Water), Part 5, Restrictions on Use of Water. Under section 272-102, the City, acting through the Lowell Regional Water Utility, may declare a state of water supply conservation when a water shortage exists. Section 272-103 then lists the specific restrictions the declaration may impose: odd-/even-day outdoor watering (odd-numbered addresses water on odd days, even on even days), a complete outdoor watering ban, restricted watering hours during periods of low demand, a prohibition on filling swimming pools, and a prohibition on the use of automatic sprinkler systems. Each summer the Utility routinely imposes the odd/even schedule (typically May 1 through Sept. 30). The local ordinance operates alongside Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40, Section 41A, which empowers a board of water commissioners to restrain the use of water on public and private premises during a drought, hurricane, conflagration or other disaster when the Department of Environmental Protection finds an emergency exists. Lowell also operates within MassDEP's Water Management Act framework, which is referenced in the ordinance's public-notification provisions.
Under the Lowell ordinance, any person violating Part 5 is liable to the City for $50 for the first violation and $100 for each subsequent violation, recoverable by indictment, by complaint before the District Court, or by noncriminal disposition under MGL c. 40, sec. 21D, with each day of violation a separate offense.
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Lowell, MA
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Lowell, MA
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Lowell, MA
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Lowell, MA
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Lowell, MA
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