The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘Abnormally dry’ weather hits half of Connecticut
Dry weather and higher irrigation loads from people staying at home are straining some water supplies in the state.
Just under half the state — 49 percent — is experiencing abnormally dry conditions as of mid last week, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. That number increased from 26 percent of the state facing abnormally dry conditions the week prior.
“Demands this year are above most in recent memory and have been extraordinarily high,” said Craig Patla, vice president of Connecticut Water. “The region is considered water rich, but it doesn’t mean we’re not susceptible to dryness and droughts.”
Higher than normal temperatures are expected this week in New York and throughout New England, according to the drought center’s forecast.
“We’re very aware of it, but we’re not in a drought yet,” Patla said.
Dan Doyle, public affairs and communications manager for the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, said that agency also is watching conditions closely but data aren’t predicting the region it serves is headed for a drought.
Doyle noted that with “many more people working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RWA has seen an unprecedented increase in water use and is urging its customers to use water wisely.”
Patla also said the state hasn’t previously seen a dry spell such as this one combined with such an increase in water usage, due to more people watering lawns and gardens multiple times a day.
Connecticut Water is being proactive about conservation, but the state isn’t facing drought levels in the immediate future, he said. Palta added the state will likely see drought conditions in some areas but the water company will be ready.
The state’s Water Planning Council has advised the state is experiencing conditions one level less severe than drought conditions, including much of the northern area of the state and southern Connecticut from Norwalk to Branford.
“Connecticut is experiencing abnormally dry conditions. Dryness is expected to worsen over the next 7 days,” the council’s most recent notice says.
“Please be advised that this is an unusual situation in that it is a rapidly developing ‘flash drought,’ so while things are not bad right now, in the coming weeks the Office of the Governor should be on standby and prepared to react quickly, with potentially little lead time,” according to a memo from the Office of Policy Management Monday.
Doug Hoskins, of the Water Planning and Management Division for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said the conditions have come on rapidly without relenting, which is known as a “flash drought.”
“All of the sudden it just stops raining for a significant amount of time and that’s what’s happening now,” Hoskins said.
Hoskins said the state hasn’t seen significant rain for a while and there’s no clear signal the weather pattern will change. Although some precipitation and slight rainfall is in the forecast, it’s not significant enough yet to really improve conditions, he said.
Connecticut has an average of 50 inches of rainfall per year, but currently rainfall is two inches below normal, he said.The Interagency Drought Work Group will meet Wednesday to discuss the possibility of going into a drought, Hoskins said.
The last time Connecticut suffered a severe drought was in 2016, which lasted 46 weeks beginning June 21, 2016 and ending May 2, 2017, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. The most intense period of drought occurred in the week of November 15, 2016, duringn which the drought severitylevel caused major crop and pasture losses and widespread water shortages or restrictions, affecting nearly 45 percent of the state.
“(The drought in) 2016 left some scars on us and that keeps us thinking about water use and the needs of the community,” Patla said.
Currently across the state, streamflows are below normal, with some areas in the northern part of the state experiencing severe hydrologic drought. This means low water supply has been evident, especially in streams, reservoirs and groundwater levels throughout the area, which is usually caused by a period of dry weather patterns.
Patla said the coronavirus crisis has also been taking its toll on residential water usage.
“With people not going to work, we’re seeing much higher usage throughout the day, rather than just peaks in morning and evening,” Patla said.”The peaks are much more sustained.”