Water restrictions in Somerville, MA — also called the watering schedule, outdoor irrigation rules, or drought ordinance — set which days and hours you can run sprinklers or irrigation.
Somerville buys water from the MWRA and typically has no mandatory outdoor water restrictions. Voluntary conservation is requested during declared state drought stages.
Somerville obtains drinking water from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) Quabbin Reservoir system, which has historically maintained reliable supply. Because Somerville does not use local wells, it is exempt from most state-declared drought outdoor watering restrictions under the Water Management Act. During state-declared drought stages (Level 2 and above), the city participates in voluntary conservation campaigns asking residents to limit lawn watering to early morning or evening and to avoid non-essential uses. There is no day-of-week or hand-held hose restriction currently in force. Most residential lots in Somerville are small and irrigation is uncommon. Water and sewer rates are high, which itself encourages conservation.
Contact your local code enforcement office for specific penalty information.
Somerville, MA
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Overnight street parking in Somerville requires a resident permit citywide. Snow emergencies trigger odd-even or posted-side bans.
Somerville, MA
Commercial vehicles over 2.5 tons cannot park overnight on Somerville residential streets. Loading zones are time-limited and signed by block.
Somerville, MA
Most Somerville streets are resident-permit zones. Non-residents are limited to 2 hours on posted blocks from 8 AM to 8 PM daily including weekends.
Somerville, MA
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Middlesex County.
See how other cities in Middlesex County handle water restrictions.
See how Somerville's water restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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