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Here in eastern Massachusetts as the moistly dry weather continues, everybody is worried about their lawns.

But we have bigger problems. Our food system is at risk. Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has declared a Level 3-Critical Drought which means a halt to all non-essential outdoor watering. 

If you’re a gardener, the drought has been bad news for your vegetable plants. When it comes to watering your vegetable gardens, what about local water restrictions? Essential uses as defined by the state include “for production of food and fiber.” Still, we must conserve.

You could use a drip irrigation system and use rain barrels. Add mulch to your soil before tilling in the spring to improve the tilth. That not only adds nutrients but also increases your garden’s drought resilience. Mulch increases the ability of the soil to hold water and speeds the rate at which water infiltrates the soil. Finally, mulch around your vegetable plants because helps control weeds and saves moisture by keeping the soil moist and shading soil and roots.

Whatever your source of fruits and vegetables, here’s what we’re looking at in Massachusetts. About a quarter of Eastern Massachusetts is in extreme drought, and it’s getting worse. In the Parker and Ipswich River watersheds, the rivers are at record low flows, according to Ryan O’Donnell, program coordinator for the Ipswich River Watershed Association. “It’s the lowest in the 80 years that we’ve been keeping records.”

How bad is it? O’Donnell says some farmers are deciding to abandon some of their crops. It’s not just the vegetables and corn that are now should be at their prime; concern is also rising for the fruit trees due to harvest later in the year. Newburyport is in the Merrimack River watershed where water is more plentiful.

Large local farms have been irrigating their fields, but the corn I’ve bought this year exhibits the effects of the drought as do the local peaches, both victims of lack of moisture and excess heat.

Out west, California and Arizona supply about two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and vegetables. There, the extreme drought has resulted in removing 600,000 acres from production in California alone.

Western agriculture uses about 70 percent of the water from the Colorado River basin, and cuts in water for irrigation will likely mean further impacts on our food supply. California produces 95 percent of the tomatoes for catsup and 83 percent of almonds sold. So, you can expect a dearth of canning tomatoes to be more noticeable in stores this fall among other impacts.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced a water management plan for the state involving conservation, increased storage, recycling, desalination and recapture of storm runoff. The federal government has declared water use from the Colorado River must be cut by 21 percent in Arizona and 8 percent in Nevada. Two months of negotiations between the seven states served by the river have stalled, and that’s when the feds stepped in.

Sadly, most Americans don’t connect the dots. We shouldn’t wait until the water crisis is so critical that it’s too costly and impossible to solve. We need a smart water strategy in every locality that will assure ample clean water well into the future.

Massachusetts has a Drought Management Task Force with a 100-plus page plan, but this year the legislature failed to pass a drought emergency bill. Since the state makes the rules for local communities on water use once we reach extreme drought, I’d suggest we urge the legislature to:

Mandate water-efficient home building regulations.

Allow the state to act earlier during droughts.

Fix our leaking existing water infrastructure.

Establish water-saving regulations for toilets, showers, tubs, as well as water-using home appliances.

Implement ways to capture and use run-off, stormwater and brown water.

Work with universities and industry to find more ways to conserve, capture and recycle water.

We must be in a position to ensure Massachusetts communities have more than enough water. It’s not just for your shower and dishes, it’s important for our llocal food supply.

Lynn Kettleson lives in Byfield

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