Letter: North Adams Not Addressing Current Drought Emergency
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To the Editor:
About a week ago, I decided to take a walk along the North Adams reservoir. I'm sure it's been at least a year since I had last done so. What I discovered shocked and amazed me: the reservoir is at most about two-thirds full. Given the extent of the drought we've experienced in Massachusetts, I shouldn't have been surprised.
What did surprise me is that we haven't heard a word from City Hall about the possibility of a water shortage and measures we might take to conserve our water supply. When I did some research, I found that the Adams Fire District posted a "State Declaration" about the level 2 drought we are experiencing and the water-use restrictions that residents
and businesses are to observe.
As far as I've been able to tell, the city of North Adams has posted no such restrictions.
The past two administrations at City Hall often made a point of leaving phone messages warning citizens of emergencies, especially those related to weather. The current administration very rarely makes this type of effort. Given what seems to be City Hall's cavalier attitude toward our water supply (remember last year's fight over the proposal to clear-cut cut forest around the reservoir, which posed a danger to the water supply?), I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Since this is an election year in North Adams, it might be time for the mayor to address this emergency and lay out her plans for dealing with it (before we face a potentially more dire situation next spring.
Daniel Spinella
North Adams, Mass.
Tags: drought,
