Mandatory pg 1 8-25-22

Details

Category: Current Issue

Mandatory
water ban
in  Putnam+
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
Editor's Note: 3 inches of rain fell Aug. 22. At press time,  we do n't know if that was enough to end the ban.
The Town of Putnam Aug. 18 instituted a mandatory water ban for those on the Putnam water system, and that includes a section of Woodstock, up to The Woodstock Academy.
The ban means no vehicle washing, lawn watering, and other non-essential uses, Mayor Barney Seney said. In addition the water department asks that folks be cognizant of the need to conserve. That means taking shorter showers and running the dishwasher and washing machine when they are full and doing that at night when the demand for water is down.
The Water Pollution Control Authority will postpone any hydrant flushing until the ban is lifted and the water level in the Little River is sufficient enough to produce the amount of water needed to supply its customers.
Seney said that the Little River/Peake Brook water level is the lowest it has been since 1966.
The town’s water operation at Peake Brook was shut down a couple weeks ago because the town hit the “trigger level” from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. That kicked in the purchase of water from Connecticut Water, he said. Currently, Seney said, the town is using water from Connecticut Water and from the town’s wells.
The town has had an agreement with Connecticut Water for years, since the state instituted the trigger level rules. Seney said Putnam buys so much a year from Connecticut Water to make sure that, when needed, “we can maintain the water levels needed.”
He said that people can use watering cans and buckets to save their vegetables, etc. but “be conservative.”
When the ban will be lifted is, of course, up to Mother Nature. Paul Larson, of Sprucedale Gardens Nursery and Greenhouse of Woodstock, said earlier this week that the area is 6 inches below normal for rainfall. A couple days ago the area went from the drought category 2 (severe) to category 3 (extreme). The rain Aug. 22 may not help much.

.