Divided By Drought: Why Neighboring Towns Have Drastically Different Water Restrictions
Fifty-year Billerica resident Tim Hinde displays his dried-out lawn, which he cannot water because of town restrictions on watering plants due to the summer drought conditions. Credit: Jesse Costa, WBUR.
There’s a sprinkler dousing Marie Robinson’s lush front lawn as the longtime Tewksbury resident chuckles and says, “I need to tell you how many people have stopped to tell us how nice our grass looks.”
In Tewksbury, residents can still irrigate their lawn, water their flowers, and even fill up a kiddie pool if they like.
But less than half a mile away, just over the line into Billerica, it’s a different story.