Southborough, MA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 162, Article I (Water Emergencies) was adopted at the 4-10-2000 Annual Town Meeting under Article 21. Section 162-1 authorizes the Select Board to establish water emergencies as necessary to conserve the supply of water and to insure the safe and efficient operation of the water system. The section carries an 11-1-2021 Special Town Meeting Article 2 amendment note.

This is an emergency trigger, not a standing schedule. Chapter 162 prints no odd-even day pattern, no permitted watering hours and no day-of-week sprinkler schedule. The irrigation restriction exists only while the Select Board has an emergency in place.

During such an emergency, outside use of water drawn from the Town's water system is prohibited. The printed examples are irrigation of lawns, gardens, shrubs and trees, washing of vehicles and recreational use, followed by the catch-all "other use as the Select Board may deem appropriate," which lets the Board widen the list in the emergency it establishes. The prohibition is tied to water drawn from the Town's water system, so it reaches customers on Town water. The chapter prints no language about private wells.

Section 162-2 sets the penalty: fines for violation of the water emergency use prohibitions are $50 for the first offense and $100 for subsequent offenses. The chapter does not name an enforcing officer and does not print a per-day count, so each fine follows the offense steps in § 162-2.