By the late 1940s, the water supplied to Conomo Point from Essex began getting rusty and turbid due to aging pipelines. After years of suffering poor water quality, in the mid-1970s Conomo residents began drilling private wells. Because the water lines to the Point had until then been turned off in October for the duration of the winter, year-round living there had not been a consideration, and Conomo Point Commissioners were reluctant to grant permission to drill wells. In response, the Board of Health ruled that no more cottages at the Point could be converted from seasonal to year-round use after May 1982.