310 CMR 36.40 - Declaration of Water Supply Emergency
(1) Any
public water supplier may petition the Department for a declaration of a state
of water supply emergency pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21G, ยงยง 15 through
17, and in accordance with 310 CMR 36.40 through
36.42.
(2) Upon receiving a petition for a
declaration of a state of water supply emergency, the Department may declare an
emergency if it finds that there exists or impends a water supply shortage of a
dimension which endangers the public health, safety or welfare, due to
circumstances including, but not limited to:
(a) demand for water exceeds the availability
of water;
(b) mechanical failure or
similar type of emergency, including inability to maintain storage tanks, loss
of power, loss of pumping capacity, loss of storage capabilities, or major
breaks or leaks;
(c) contamination
of the public water supply, the distribution system or storage tanks and
inability to meet demand with remaining public water supplies;
(d) inadequate source of water, inadequate
distribution system capacity, inadequate storage capacity or drought including
seasonal water shortages which repeatedly affect the same public water system;
or
(e) necessary repair or
maintenance of the public water system.
(3) Whenever the Department determines
pursuant to a petition that the protection of the public health, safety or
welfare requires an immediate declaration of a state of water supply emergency,
it may make such declaration verbally. A verbal declaration shall expire by its
terms or by operation of
310 CMR 36.00 ten business
days from the date of the verbal declaration, whichever is earlier, unless the
public water supplier submits a written petition to the Department within the
ten business day period.
(4) The
Department in its discretion may not declare a state of water supply emergency
if it finds that the water supply shortage has been primarily caused by closure
of a local withdrawal point on local authority without prior approval by the
Department.
(5) In declaring a
state of water supply emergency, the Department may require the public water
supplier to submit a water supply emergency plan for review and approval. Such
plan shall include provisions the Department deems appropriate and feasible to
remedy the state of emergency, including, but not limited to:
(a) taking by eminent domain under M.G.L. c.
79 the right to use any land for the time necessary to use such
water;
(b) purchasing water from
another public water system;
(c)
restricting the use of water on public or private premises by shutting off the
water at the meter or at the curb cock or by other means;
(d) an approved water resources management
plan;
(e) a leak detection
program;
(f) a program for auditing
water use;
(g) a program for
overall system rehabilitation;
(h)
conservation programs for public and private buildings;
(i) bans or restrictions on certain water
uses;
(j) water banking;
(k) moratorium on the issuance of building
permits;
(l) a plan for
establishing priority for distribution of water among competing uses;
and
(m) a drought management or
contingency plan.
(6) In
declaring a state of water supply emergency, the Department shall limit the
applicability of the state of water supply emergency to the city or town
submitting the petition or the geographical area served by the public water
supplier submitting the petition.
Notes
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