WEYMOUTH — Oct. 5, 2026 — Weymouth would replace its flat $50 fine for breaking mandatory water restrictions with a warning, then $200 and $300 penalties for repeat offenses, under an ordinance change aired at a Town Council public hearing Monday. Councilors pressed the administration after learning the town has issued no recent fines, though it has issued warnings and contacted residents by phone and email.
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Measure 26 106, the amendment to Ordinance Section 8-301, Water Supply, did not come to a vote. The council opened and closed the hearing, and the council president said the measure remains in the Ordinance Committee, which will take it up at a future meeting before it returns to the full council with a recommendation.
As presented, the current ordinance punishes any water taker who violates mandatory water restrictions with a $50 fine, and each instance of noncompliance after a warning or citation counts as a separate violation. The proposal would make a first offense a warning, a second offense a $200 fine and a third or any later violation a $300 fine.
Braydon Marot, who introduced the proposal as the town’s water superintendent, said DEP, in comments submitted during the comment period on a draft Environmental Impact Report, recommended that the town revisit its penalties and fines to ensure they are stringent enough to promote compliance with water conservation requirements. Marot said a June review and survey of surrounding towns by the Mass Water Works Association also informed the revision, which Marot and the mayor’s chief of staff drafted.
Asked how many citations the town generally issues for abuse of water, Marot answered:
We have not issued any recent fines for the abuse of public water.
— Braydon Marot, answering Councilor Andrew Donovan (7:07)
Councilor Andrew Donovan, who asked, wanted to know why the town had not issued citations before seeking higher fines, and how it would know whether it was catching repeat offenders without a current measure of who is in violation. Chief of Staff TJ Lacey said the measure is the beginning of tracking repeat offenders and described field enforcement and compliance as an area the administration has identified for improvement. Asked how success would be measured, Lacey called the higher fines another tool for water conservation given the conditions of this past summer; Marot offered reduced consumption, tracked through consumption data during drought restrictions. Donovan voiced support for conserving as much water as possible.
Councilor Rick Coughlin said this year’s drought had been more severe than in recent years and that the council was hearing about higher fines only as summer ended.
So if you receive one hundred dollars in fines over the next year, that’s a hundred percent increase of what we’ve got in the past. So it’s a success.
— Rick Coughlin, Town Council (10:41)
Marot responded that while the town has not issued a fine, it has issued warnings and contacted residents by phone and email, and that everyone contacted complied. Coughlin then apologized, saying he had understood there had been no enforcement.
Lacey also said public outreach and communication will be part of the strategy when drought conditions trigger restrictions. The lone public speaker at the hearing urged the town to pair fines with tiered seasonal water pricing and a public education campaign.
