Mayor (unnamed) announced that the city is under a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection water ban effective July 27 and said nonessential outdoor water use is restricted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. until monitored stream flows recover.

The ban matters because it is issued under state monitoring rules the mayor described as set by the Department of Environmental Protection, which uses stream markers to determine when drought conditions require local restrictions.

The mayor said the Department of Environmental Protection’s rules require the city to monitor stream depth and notify DEP if measured flows fall below a set threshold. He said the city’s public works department preemptively announced the ban because DEP typically issues the drought condition within 14 days of that notification. "What that water ban means is you can still water your lawn. You can still use your hoses. You can still wash your cars. You can do plenty of things like that, but you just can't do it between the hours of 9AM to 5PM," the mayor said.

The mayor explained the rationale for the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. restriction: daytime heat causes higher evaporation so water applied then is less likely to soak into soil. He said water use outside those hours — before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. — is allowed under the state rule the city is following. The mayor also described the practical effect: the ban remains in place "until the stream flow... goes back up to the appropriate level that the state says".

This announcement is an operational implementation of state drought rules rather than a local ordinance or vote; the mayor repeatedly described the ban as coming from Massachusetts DEP regulations and a state monitoring process. Residents with questions were invited to contact the mayor’s office.

Less critical details: the mayor said the city’s DPW announced the restriction in advance to give residents time to plan.