First threshold, “Increased Awareness,” reached
People in the Pomperaug Basin reminded to use water wisely
Just weeks following historic flooding in Southbury and neighboring towns, river flows in the Pomperaug River have dropped below the first threshold in the Heritage Village water system’s low-flow operations plan. As called for in the plan, Connecticut Water’s Heritage Village water system, the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition, and the Town of Southbury are taking steps to increase public awareness of the low river flow.
This is the first of three possible action levels identified in the plan. While customers of the Heritage Village system and private well owners are always encouraged to use water wisely, now that the Increased Awareness action level has been reached, they are being asked to be even more aware with how they use water because it has an impact on the Pomperaug Aquifer that can affect river flows.
The typical low-flow period for the Pomperaug occurs between July 1 and Oct. 31, and this is the kind of scenario that was envisioned when the low-flow operations plan was developed. The current river flow is about 22.4 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is below the first threshold of 32.7 cfs. The next threshold, which would include a call to encourage voluntary water conservation, would be when the flows are less than 15 cfs. With only a small chance of rain in the forecast, river levels are expected to drop further.
“Calling attention to the low flows right now is an especially challenging scenario,” said Carol Haskins, Executive Director of the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition. “Many folks in the community are still recovering from the impacts of August’s flood damage, which in many cases includes the need to use more water than usual for cleaning sediment, mold, and the like from buildings that were inundated and for outdoor watering to help establish new vegetation to replace what was buried in flood debris or washed away by flood waters. As such, the emphasis with this announcement really is to increase awareness that the river has reached a low flow threshold and to highlight how quickly conditions can swing from one extreme to the other.”
Heritage Village system customers and private well owners can visit ctwater.com for water conservation tips. The current Pomperaug River status and Action Levels can be viewed online at www.pomperaug.org/lowflowplan.
About Connecticut Water Company
Connecticut Water is a public water utility that is regulated by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. The company provides water service to more than 107,000 customers in 60 Connecticut towns and wastewater services to 3,000 customers in the town of Southbury, Connecticut.
The towns served are Ashford, Avon, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Bolton, Brooklyn, Burlington, Canton, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Columbia, Coventry, Deep River, Durham, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Farmington, Griswold, Guilford, Haddam, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Oxford, Plainfield, Plymouth, Portland, Prospect, Simsbury, Somers, Southbury, South Windsor, Stafford, Stonington, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Vernon, Voluntown, Waterbury, Westbrook, Willington, Windsor Locks and Woodstock.
About the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition
PRWC’s mission is to ensure plentiful, high-quality water in the Pomperaug Watershed communities through the use of science and education. We share our knowledge and expertise with others committed to the protection of the vital water resources upon which we all depend. PRWC accomplishes its mission by employing the latest science to advance best management of the watershed and by creating a partnership of local governments, businesses, private individuals, scientists and environmental groups who work collaboratively to protect the health and vibrancy of the Watershed.
PRWC’s programs and services include: development and acquisition of scientific watershed and river data; provision of technical assistance on environmental challenges; and facilitation of educational programs. All of PRWC’s programs and activities underscore our collective roles as stewards of our environment and promote good habits to keep our watershed and rivers healthy.