Section 41A. A board of water commissioners or a board of public works with the duties of water commissioners of a municipality, water supply, fire and water district or water company having control of water supplies may, on behalf of their respective bodies politic or corporate, upon notification to the water takers, restrain the use of water on public and private premises by shutting off the water at the meter or at the curb cock or by other means as the case may be, during a drought, hurricane, conflagration or other disaster when in the opinion of the department of environmental protection an emergency exists.