Southbury Residents Asked To Conserve Water

From the Town of Southbury: River flows in the Pomperaug River have hit the second trigger in the low-flow operations plan announced in June. As called for in the plan, The Heritage Village Water Company, the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition, and the Town of Southbury are asking residents in the Pomperaug River Basin to voluntarily reduce their water use because of low flows in the river.

This is the second of three possible action levels identified in the plan. Customers of the Heritage Village Water Company and private well owners are always encouraged to use water wisely. Now that the water conservation desired action level has been reached, they are being asked to voluntarily conserve water. Private wells and public water supplies in the area draw water from the Pomperaug Aquifer, which 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 10.8 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is below the second trigger of 15 cfs. The final trigger, which would reinforce the desire for conservation, would be when the flows are less than 7 cfs.

In addition to these steps for customers, the stress on the Pomperaug River is further reduced as the water supply needs of the Towantic Energy Center, LLC, are being met with the water supply sources of Connecticut Water Company from supplies outside of the Pomperaug River Basin.
Heritage Village Water customers and private well owners can visit www.heritagevillagewater.com for water conservation tips. The current Pomperaug River status and Action Levels can be viewed online at www.pomperaug.org/lowflowplan.

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock