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Water Woes
Roseland Park's lake is part of the system that supplies Putnam's water. Linda Lemmon photo.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Although there was some rain recently, the water levels in the Little River are still below where they should be at the town’s water treatment plant and the ban on most outdoor water use is still in effect.
William W. Trayner Sr., director of the Water Pollution Control Authority, said Putnam is “skirting the trigger level” of 9.04 cubic feet per second so the ban remains.
“We are still banning watering of lawns, washing cars, washing of driveways, sidewalks, and all other non-essential uses of water,” he added.
In addition to various notification requirements, the Phase III emergency requires the WPCA, in cooperation with state and local officials, to implement a water rationing plan. The plan must provide for the essentials of life sustenance for as long as possible, as well as providing water for medical needs and fire protection. A predetermined amount of water must also be held in reserve for fire protection, he said.
If necessary, arrangements shall be instituted for emergency service of drinking and cooking water by tanker to any areas where water service has been cut off, and local police and water department personnel must strictly enforce mandatory rationing of water, if necessary, he said.
“So far, due to the present interconnection, we have not had to resort to such drastic measures as rationing water; however, a plan for these measures is being drawn up, in the event that the interconnection were to be shut down for any reason,” he said.
Trayner said if the ban is lifted, he will be on WINY Radio with the prompt announcement.
The goal of the emergency response plan is to reduce pre-emergency water usage, which was approximately 1.0 million gallons per day, by 20 percent, he said.
He said the flows in the Little River, where Putnam’s water treatment plant is located, have been below 9.04 cubic feet per second (cfs) for a total of 12 days in July. The 9.04 cfs level was the flow agreed to in a Consent Order between the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the town for the month of July as the minimum flow necessary to protect the river’s aquatic resources. When flows drop below the 9.04 cfs mark during the month of July, the treatment plant must cease diverting water from the river, unless there is a declaration of a water supply emergency which suspends the DEP requirement, he noted.
“Putnam has been operating under a Declaration and Order of Public Water Supply Emergency issued by the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health since July 6, which allows us to divert from the river when other sources cannot supply our needs," Trayner said. The town arranged for a temporary interconnection with the Connecticut Water Company to provide the town with additional water.
“Connecticut Water has supplied us with water since July 7 through the temporary interconnection, and the total volume of water received to date is 6,416,000 gallons,” he added. Since the emergency was declared, the balance of the water supplied to our customers has come from the town’s Park Street wellfield, and limited diversions from the Little River under the terms of the health department order,” he said last week.