Pomperaug River Low-Flow Plan Action Level Reached

First threshold, “Increased Awareness,” reached

People in the Pomperaug Basin reminded to use water wisely

June 29, 2021 – As the state of Connecticut is again experiencing lower than average rainfall amounts, river flows in the Pomperaug River have hit the first flow threshold in the Heritage Village Water system’s low-flow operations plan. As called for in the plan, Connecticut Water’s Heritage Village Water Division, the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition, and the Town of Southbury are taking steps to increase public awareness of the river flow.

This is the first of three possible action levels identified in the plan. While customers of Heritage Village Water and private well owners are always encouraged to use water wisely, now that the Increased Awareness action level has been reached, they are being asked to be even more cautious with how they use water as it has an impact on the Pomperaug Aquifer that can affect river flows.

The typical low-flow period for the Pomperaug occurs between July 1 and October 31st, and this is the kind of scenario that was envisioned when the low-flow operations plan was developed. The plan was based on earlier in-stream habitat studies that identified water-level needs for various fish species during these months which make up the rearing and growth bio-period. Given the proximity of the Heritage Village Water wells to the Pomperaug River, river flows are an early indicator that conservation measures should be encouraged to help protect fish communities while also protecting drinking water supplies.

The current river flow is about 17.0 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is below the first trigger of 32.7 cfs. The next trigger, which would include a call for conservation, would be when the flows are less than 15 cfs.

Heritage Village Water customers and private well owners can visit ctwater.com/conservation for water conservation tips. The current Pomperaug River status and Action Levels can be viewed online at www.pomperaug.org/lowflowplan.