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, §§ 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.