Interagency Drought Work Group: Drought No Longer Present In CT

Press release from the Office of Policy and Management:

Jan. 13, 2021

After months in moderate drought conditions, the state is now out of the drought altogether, according to the Connecticut Interagency Drought Workgroup, which voted last week to eliminate the remaining drought designations for all counties.

At the peak of the drought in early fall, four counties had reached Stage 3 of the Connecticut Drought Preparedness and Response Plan, a level not seen since 2016. With the arrival of heavy rains and snow in the later months of autumn, the drought quickly subsided, and as of December only New London county remained at Stage 2, while the rest of the state improved to Stage 1.

“The wetter than normal December eliminated our remaining concerns about ground water and reservoir levels heading into winter,” said Interagency Drought Workgroup Chair Martin Heft. “Although we are fortunate to once again have an abundant supply of water, it should never be wasted and businesses and residents are encouraged to continue following best practices for water conservation and wise water use. The drinking water reservoirs of a handful of public water systems still have not fully recovered, so customers must continue to follow any company-specific conservation protocols to ensure a complete storage recharge before spring.”

The State Interagency Drought Workgroup consists of representatives from the Office of Policy and Management, Department of Public Health, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (including the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority), Department of Agriculture, and Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, with assistance from United States Geological Survey and National Weather Service. More information on the Interagency Drought Workgroup, as well as resources such as the State Drought Plan, are available here.

This press release was produced by the Office of Policy and Management. The views expressed here are the author’s own.