Mass Rivers and Partners File Brief to Support MA Water Conservation Rule

The first line of defense to protect our rivers and water supplies during a drought is water

conservation. In support of this important goal, the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance and ten

partner organizations filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief with the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Appeals Court on March 24. We and our partners weighed in to support the state’s Department of Environmental Protection’s 2023 regulations requiring

“registered” water users to conserve water during droughts. These regulations are especially

critical due to the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, and our brief details the

synergistic adverse effects of excessive water withdrawals and climate change on streams flows and water quality in the Commonwealth.

In Massachusetts, anyone using more than 100,000 gallons per day of water must receive

permission from the state, and most of these large water users are municipalities. Our towns

have long operated under a bewildering array of water management rules with respect to

water conservation, and as a result residents of neighboring towns can experience completely

different conservation restrictions during dry weather, varying from no restrictions at all to

total bans on nonessential outdoor water use. The differences in these rules reflect the

development of water laws and policies over the last forty years, and bear little connection to

ecological or public health needs.

To its credit, MassDEP has been slowly moving to develop a more consistent, science-based

water management regime, more closely aligning its system of water registrations and permits

with the state’s Drought Management Plan. The requirement that this group of water users

conserve water during droughts is an important step in the right direction for river health,

sustainable water supplies, and climate resilience. The new regulations were promulgated in

2023, appealed by a group of water suppliers, and the Suffolk County Superior Court affirmed

the legality of the new rules. However, the water suppliers appealed the decision. Our brief

supports the positions of the MassDEP (the defendant) and the Charles River Watershed

Association (who intervened in support of MassDEP) that the Court should uphold MassDEP’s

reasonable water conservation rules. Oral argument in the Appeals Court is scheduled for April 14, 2025. We are represented in filing our amicus brief by Earthrise Law Center, the

environmental clinic of Lewis & Clark Law School.

Read the entire Brief here:

24P0931 P24 Amicus Brief (1).pdf

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