Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The Healey-Driscoll administration on March 21 announced the first awards from a new grant program supporting projects that promote climate resiliency by reducing indoor and outdoor water use, as well as improving water loss control programs.
The Drought Resiliency and Water Efficiency Grant Program awarded a total of $500,000.
In a prepared statement, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said the drought-resilience and water-efficiency measures supported by the grants will “empower municipalities and ensure a healthy water supply for future generations, especially as climate change continues to affect our water systems.”
Eligible uses for the grant funds include:
• Water loss control program development and implementation
• Water conservation/efficiency program development and implementation
• Outdoor water use efficiency improvements
• Drought management planning
There was no match requirement for the program’s first round of funding, with a target amount of up to $50,000 for individual awards.
Funded projects include purchases of leak detection equipment and water meters and various needs assessments and planning efforts. For example, the Cape Cod Commission received $44,332 to conduct a rate structure study, and the town of Needham received $13,404 to replace leaking, inefficient rotors with high-efficiency equipment to reduce outdoor water usage at a municipally managed playing field. (See the grant award press release for the full list of funded projects.)
Resiliency efforts such as these are articulated in the Massachusetts Drought Management Plan and align with broader efforts by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to support communities, water districts, and watersheds in their responses to climate change and current drought conditions.
Reducing indoor water use can make a significant difference in conserving resources, while high-efficiency appliances and water-related products can also reduce energy consumption.
Water systems and municipal governments can also conserve resources by limiting nonessential outdoor watering, often to certain hours of the day or days of the week. Measures to address water loss can include systems to better account for water distribution, like improved metering and record-keeping, as well as supporting the infrastructure to prevent loss of water.
The Water Resources Commission offers an online Massachusetts Water Conservation Toolkit to provide a range of strategies and resources.
State officials have not yet confirmed whether another round of Drought Resiliency and Water Efficiency grant funding will be available in the future.