Water is precious: Do your part to keep it flowing

You don’t realize how precious water is or how it is essential to practically every aspect of your life until you have to do without it.

Connecticut has been under a drought watch for the past two months, and while the possibility of the essential life liquid drying up here remains remote, local officials are sounding the alarm about the dwindling water levels in our reservoirs.

According to the Southwest Connecticut Regional Water Authority, reservoir levels are normally at 72 percent capacity this time of year, but December levels were recorded at 53 percent — and that is an average percent across the utility’s 10 active reservoirs.

The RWA serves approximately 430,000 customers across 15 towns with about 45 million gallons of water every day. An area is placed on a Drought Watch if cumulative precipitation levels are 65 percent lower than normal for three months.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy declared the watch on Oct. 28 and called upon residents in New Haven, Litchfield, Middlesex, Hartford, Tolland and Fairfield counties to reduce water usage by 15 percent.

Recent rains and snow have helped some, but it has not been enough.

It’s up to Nutmeggers to do their part to keep this from becoming a crisis by taking steps to avoid wasting water.

So put that bubble bath on hold and shorten those showers, let the laundry pile up a bit, stack the dishwasher full before running it and turn the water off while brushing your teeth or washing dishes in the kitchen sink.

These are small changes, but they’ll bring big results.

Drought or drought conditions are a problem across the United States where water is running scarce in some communities. Parts of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi were under “exceptional drought” conditions at the end of last year. And a large part of the country — from eastern Texas through parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and up to Kentucky — is experiencing drought that threatens crops and has led to water shortages.

According to the United States Drought Monitor, 51.2 percent of the Northeast was experiencing moderate-to-exceptional drought at the end of October, a big increase from the 41.0 percent at the end of the previous month and the largest since 2002. Nearly 40 percent of the Southeast is under moderate to exceptional drought conditions, according to the most recent analysis by the Southeast Regional Climate Center.

“Water is essential to life. Having an adequate supply for drinking, public health, fire protection and the environment is the RWA’s top priority. We are asking our customers to help by eliminating unnecessary water use and taking steps to avoid wasting water,” said Ted Norris, vice president of asset management for the RWA.

The message is clear: You don’t know how precious water is until you have to do without it. Let’s not have that happen.

So put that bubble bath on hold and shorten those showers, let the laundry pile up a bit, stack the dishwasher full before running it and turn the water off while brushing your teeth or washing dishes in the kitchen sink.