State Water Plan Update

At the end of June, the Final Draft of a comprehensive State Water Plan (SWP) was released for a 120-day public comment period ending November 20.

Along with numerous other key stakeholders, PRWC has been an active voice at the table in the planning for the SWP. Our engagement has been as members of both the Water Planning Council Advisory Group and the SWP Science & Technical Committee. That committee was charged with assisting with the science behind the SWP. Our goal had been to export local watershed knowledge into the SWP with the desired outcome being that the SWP would provide for the assembly of critical water resource data and meaningful policies and pathways to balance the competing needs for our water resources. We believe that the SWP overall meets this goal. It was an honor for us to have participated in the development of the SWP while working alongside so many talented individuals. We applaud the State Water Planning Council for its leadership in developing the SWP.

You can locate a copy of the Final Draft of the SWP at the following link: www.ct.gov/water. Although it is a very large document, we encourage you to review as much of the material as you have the time for while underscoring that the executive summary will give you a good understanding of the SWP. The link above also provides you with an opportunity to review comments on the SWP as provided by PRWC and others.

Once revised to reflect the outcome of public comment, the SWP is scheduled to be submitted to the Connecticut General Assembly by January 1, 2018 where the Joint Standing Committees on Environment, Public Health, Planning & Development and Energy & Technology may conduct a joint public hearing on the SWP. Changes may then be requested before it returns to the General Assembly for proposed adoption. PRWC looks forward to approval of the SWP and future participation in its implementation.

In addition to the public meetings, the WPC has produced a webinar which provides an overview and pathways forward for the Plan. Details about the public meetings, webinar and a copy of the draft plan with instructions on how to provide comments can be found at www.ct.gov/water. The WPC is comprised of members from four State Agencies that deal with water resources: the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, Office of Policy and Management, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and the Department of Public Health.

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