Tie Vote Blocks Elimination of Town Water Restrictions in Norwood-September 8, 1971

A deadlocked board vote abruptly blocked a municipal effort to lift remaining emergency water conservation curbs across Norwood.

Board Debate Over Metropolitan District Commission Guidelines

Selectmen Walter J. Dempsey and John A. Abdallah jointly proposed lifting the ongoing municipal ban on the use of lawn-sprinkling devices and hoses for automobile washing, arguing that an “emergency situation” no longer existed and that a return to normal operating procedures was overdue. The board had previously rescinded restrictions on outdoor water usage for water-fed air conditioning units.

However, Board Chairman Harry B. Butters and Selectman Martin Lydon fiercely opposed the motion, resulting in a 2-2 tie vote that caused the measure to fail on the floor (with the fifth board member, Charles L. Rich, absent). Chairman Butters maintained that lifting the ban was premature and ill-advised because the town’s primary wholesale water supplier, the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), had not yet officially withdrawn or mitigated the severe restrictions implemented earlier that summer.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger