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09/24/2020 12:00 AMFall may be here but the shoreline area is going to have to deal with the consequences of summer. On Sept. 22, the Connecticut Water Company (CWC) advised the residents of Clinton, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, Madison, and Guilford to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by 10 percent due to the ongoing dry weather and higher than normal water use from customers.
According to a press release from the water company, “nearly 85 percent of Connecticut is in the abnormally dry to extreme drought category. The summer of 2020 ranks as the 11th-driest and the warmest summer since 1895, according to the Northeast Climate Center. Precipitation is nearly five inches below the normal rainfall of eight inches for the summer season.”
CWC provided examples of adjustments that people can make help with reduced water use including to stop watering lawns; shutting off automatic irrigation systems; sweeping patios, driveways, and sidewalks rather than using a hose; turning off the water when brushing teeth or shaving; taking showers instead of baths; fixing leaks and checking for silent toilet leaks (a video the CWC posted with its press release on how to do this can be found here), and collecting the water while waiting for a shower to get warm for other uses like watering plants.
In the press release, CWC Vice President of Service Delivery Craig J. Patlat said that water usage between June and August was about 20 percent higher than it was during the same time in 2019. Patla pointed to people possibly using pools and watering lawns more often due to the dry weather as reasons for the increased use. Patla also suggested more people being home for the summer due to COVID-19 could have contributed to the water use increase.
CWC Director of Cooperate Communications Daniel Meaney said in an email that these drought measures have been instituted before, most recently in 2016. The release states that there is currently an adequate supply of water for customers, but CWC wants to ensure that there will continue to be enough water for “public health, hygiene, and fire hygiene protection.”
Meaney said that residents should continue to follow the recommendation until further notice. A drought advisory and voluntary water conservation request is the first stage of the CWC’s drought response plan.
“There are three other triggers. Each stage has increasingly stringent requirements and requests including mandatory watering bans at the later stages,” Meaney said. “These protocols are established as part of our water supply planning and emergency contingency planning guidelines established by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.”
More suggestions on how to save water can be found at www.CTWater.com/conservation. Customers without Internet access can call 800-286-5700.
Additional information on how the drought is affecting Connecticut is available from interagency drought workgroup at portal.ct.gov/Water/Drought/Drought-Home.