Drought Conditions Intensify In 4 Connecticut Counties: Officials

CONNECTICUT — Citing precipitation levels across Connecticut 3 three to 7 inches less than normal over the past 90 days, the state's Interagency Drought Workgroup has announced that the four northern counties — Litchfield, Hartford, Tolland, and Windham — are experiencing Stage 2 Drought conditions.

Under the state’s drought plan adopted in 2018, Stage 2 has replaced the previously used “Drought Advisory” stage and identifies an "emerging drought event, potentially impacting water supplies, agriculture, or natural ecosystems."

"We have experienced drier than normal conditions in the spring and summer," state Office of Policy and Management Undersecretary Martin Heft said.

Heft chairs the Interagency Drought Workgroup.

"The combination of precipitation shortfalls and an extended period of excessive heat has impacted the state's water resources and increased demands upon them," he said. "Many water suppliers struggle to keep pace with increased consumer demand for outdoor water uses and impacts are also being experienced in the state’s streams and agricultural and forest lands. We must begin early steps now to mitigate the potential for harm should the drought become prolonged."

Connecticut Water Co. Wednesday said Thursday that River flows in the Pomperaug River have hit the third and final trigger in the low-flow operations plan. As called for in the plan, the Heritage Village Water Company, the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition and the Town of Southbury are strongly requesting that the community, including residents, businesses and public agencies in the Pomperaug River Basin, "voluntarily step up their water conservation efforts because of low flows in the river."

Last week, the town of Manchester encouraged conservation because of reservoir capacities lower that 70 percent.

Connecticut Water spokesman Daniel Meaney said no formal restrictions have been place on its biggest resourse, the 5-billion-gallon Shenipsit Lake Reservoir in Vernon, Tolland and Ellington, but residents in northern Connecticut are still being advised of conditions.

Interagency Drought Workgroup officials said residents and businesses in Stage 2 counties are being asked to voluntarily take the following measures to aid in minimizing future drought impact:

• Reduce automatic outdoor irrigation
• Postpone the planting of any new lawns or vegetation
• Minimize overall water use by fixing leaky plumbing and fixtures
• Follow any additional conservation requests issued by water suppliers or municipalities

"Residents should not be alarmed, but should be mindful of their water consumption and take sensible steps to stretch water supplies and reduce impacts on other water uses and on the environment," Department of Public Health Acting Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said.

Tips on water saving measures can be found on the Department of Public Health’s website here.

Stage 2 is the second of five stages of drought defined in the Connecticut Drought Response and Preparedness Plan. The Interagency Drought Workgroup classified the entire state as being at Stage 1 on June 19, when there were early signals of abnormally dry conditions. That stage is intended as a “heads up” regarding the possibility of a developing drought.

The decision to move to Stage 2 is based on an assessment of indicator data monitored by state and federal agencies, including precipitation, surface waters, groundwater, reservoirs, soil moisture, vegetation, and fire danger conditions, officials said. The state has experienced this level of drought four times in the past two decades, in 2002, 2007, 2010, and 2016. If conditions deteriorate further, the state could reach Stage 3, having reached that threshold only once before, in 2016, officials said.

The Interagency Drought Workgroup has moved the four northern counties to Stage 2 because precipitation shortfalls, reduced ground water levels, stream flows, and soil moisture impacts are especially pronounced there. Rainfall and droughts do not follow political boundaries, and impacts can be more severe at certain locations. Those who depend on private wells, fire or irrigation ponds, and other highly localized water resources should be especially mindful of local conditions, especially in places where previous droughts have affected supplies, officials said.

The State Interagency Drought Workgroup consists of representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Department of Public Health, Office of Policy and Management, and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, with assistance from the National Weather Service and United States Geological Survey. More information on the Interagency Drought Workgroup and the State Drought Plan are available here.

Connecticut Water issued the following chart Wednesday: