Print
Share page with AddThis

State of Connecticut Declares Stage 2 Drought Conditions in All Counties

MDC Customers Do Not Have Water Use Restrictions
Posted on: July 15, 2022 - 9:39am
State of Connecticut Declares Stage 2 Drought Conditions in All Counties

Governor Ned Lamont approved a recommendation by the State of Connecticut’s Interagency Drought Working Group to declare that all eight Connecticut counties are experiencing Stage 2 Drought conditions due to precipitation across the state being below normal. Under the state’s drought plan adopted in 2018, Stage 2 identifies an emerging drought event, potentially impacting water supplies, agriculture, or natural ecosystems.

Locally, there are currently no mandatory or voluntary water use restrictions being requested of Metropolitan District (MDC) customers.

Even with recent dry conditions, as of today, the MDC drinking water reservoir supply stands at over 94.5% of capacity, which represents approximately 628 days of supply in storage which assumes regular water production and zero rainfall over that time period. This is normal when compared to historical capacity of our reservoirs and current water production demands for this time of year.

The MDC’s water supply is unique in that it is a surface water supply system of reservoirs that includes the 30.3 billion-gallon Barkhamsted Reservoir and the 9.5 billion-gallon Nepaug Reservoir. The Barkhamsted Reservoir is the largest drinking water reservoir in Connecticut, while the Nepaug is the fourth largest. When full, these two reservoirs store almost 40 billion gallons of water, a volume equivalent to 660 days of supply or 22 months of typical water use.

Because of the large size of its reservoirs relative to the amount of water typically used, the MDC is better able to sustain operations during dry conditions than other water utilities in Connecticut.  It is important to note that the MDC’s vast Barkhamsted Reservoir watershed area, that extends into Massachusetts, can receive rainfall even if the greater Hartford area doesn’t.

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

The MDC will continue to monitor weather conditions and reservoir levels and advise customers if and when conditions warrant any water use restrictions in our service area. Visit MDC website for more information.