Clear to partly cloudy. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.

The Babson Reservoir’s water levels have dropped, as evident by the water line on the pump house, as Cape Ann continues to feel the effects of a summer long drought.

The Babson Reservoir’s water levels have dropped as Gloucester continues to feel the effects of a summer-long drought.

The Babson Reservoir’s water levels have dropped, as evident by the water line on the pump house, as Cape Ann continues to feel the effects of a summer long drought.

The Babson Reservoir’s water levels have dropped as Gloucester continues to feel the effects of a summer-long drought.

Gloucester’s outdoor water ban due to the drought has curbed water usage, but the city’s reservoir capacity “is lower than normal,” city environmental engineer Dana Martin told city councilors last week.

As of Aug. 22, overall, the city reservoirs were at 54% of their total water capacity system-wide, Martin said. She noted the city has two water treatment plants and draws from either the east or west system. It’s presently drawing from the west.

The total water capacity of the two systems is 1,565 million gallons, and as of last Monday, there was 845 million gallons in the city’s five reservoirs, according to a slide presented by Martin.

The state drought task force has declared the entire state is in “drought status.” “Currently, the northeast region, of which Gloucester is a part of, is in a Level 3 critical drought,” Martin said.

As part of that drought, the city enacted water use restrictions from Aug. 2 to 31.The restrictions limit outdoor watering to handheld watering by a hose or watering can from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. and prohibit the use of irrigation systems and lawn sprinklers. They also prohibit filling swimming pools and washing cars (other than commercial car washes), boats, driveways and sidewalks.

“We’ve seen a great reduction in water use as a result of these restrictions so we are really happy they have been successful. We’ve been able to recover some of our water,” Martin said. “That being said, our capacity is lower than normal,” Martin said. “Luckily we got some rain last night,” she said of rain that fell on Monday, Aug. 22. More rain fell Friday, Aug. 26.

Councilor at-Large Jason Grow asked about levels of the reservoirs percentage-wise.

As of Aug. 22, Martin said in the east Babson Reservoir was at 68% capacity while Goose Cove was at 62%, and in the west Wallace Pond was at 54% capacity, Dykes Pond at 52% and Haskell Pond was at 44%.

“We’re down strictly because of the drought,” Martin said, adding engineers will re-evaluate when the restrictions sunset Wednesday. “I could see us continuing the current restrictions.”

She said the city could ban all outdoor watering, but she said she does not think that will be necessary.

Councilor at-Large James O’Hara asked how the reservoirs’ current capacity compares with years past.

Martin said the capacity is typically in the 60% to 70% range at this time of year and the seaport has seen levels lower than they are now in the past 20 to 30 years.

“If we got no rain, we’d have a couple more months of water supply,” Martin said. City engineers expect with rain, the drop in usage in the fall and the typical recharge in the fall, winter and spring “we’ll be in decent shape,” she added.

Public Works Director Mike Hale told councilors his department gets calls about those using automated irrigation systems to water their lawns.

“If your neighbor’s lawn is green and they are not on a well, they are probably violating water restrictions,” Hale said. “There is no green grass right now, anywhere,” Hale said.

“We manager our reservoir levels well. We have leak detection that is ongoing daily. We have obviously water use restrictions in place. It’s up to each individual person to make sure that they are playing their part in this,” Hale said.

Council President Valerie Gilman asked Chief Administrative Officer Jill Cahill about how the water ban is being enforced, noting that councilors get calls regularly from constituents about illegal water use which they refer to police. The fine for the first violation is $50 and $100 for each subsequent violation, according to city ordinance.

Cahill said residents should call the police, but realize the ban is difficult to enforce because typically when police are called, by the time they arrive, the sprinklers are no longer running.

“We’ve been making calls and sending letters and stopping by,” Cahill said. “It’s mostly a public information campaign because it’s really hard to catch someone in the midst of watering their lawn.”

Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714,or at eforman@northofboston.com.

Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714,or at eforman@northofboston.com.

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