Groundwater reserves in Norfolk appear ample

By Janet G. Mead

On Nov. 15, after two years of scant rainfall and snow, one of the hottest summers on record and a warm fall, the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) reported that almost half of Connecticut (44.5 percent), including the Northwest Corner, is in a condition of Extreme Drought. This category—the fourth of five in severity—is one step away from the worst, Exceptional Drought. The USDM projects that the drought will persist through February for most of New England.

To put this in some sort of perspective: As of Nov. 16, just 6.4 percent of the continental U.S. is in Extreme Drought; another 2.36 percent is in Exceptional Drought.

The USDM maps show this band of Extreme Drought in red, snaking from northeastern Massachusetts through the center f the state and the Berkshires, dipping down to cover the northwest corner of Connecticut, and flowing through the lower Hudson Valley and Catskills in New York.

There have been signs of drought here in Norfolk: hollow streambeds, trickling rivers, lakes ringed by striated brown banks. “Ralph Burr, who’s about 90, says he’s never seen Tobey Pond this low his whole life,” commented Star Childs. Coke Wilson, who’s lived on Wood Creek Pond for many years, recently measured 15 inches of exposed rocks along the banks of Wood Creek. “I’ve never seen anything like this here,” he said. Doolittle Lake was lower than usual in August—but Wangum Reservoir in Canaan, which supplies the town of Norfolk, looks fine.

So, how do you know when usual variations in the weather become something much more serious? For this we rely on an Medusa-like consortium of federal and state agencies, each of which monitors those environmental conditions that interest them. We hope our federal and state officials will alert us to potential dangers.

On June 27, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) sounded the first alarm, issuing a Drought Advisory for the state. DPH Commissioner Dr. Paul Pino, commenting that “the state’s public water supplies are still fine overall,” said, “We are asking all residents to comply with any conservation recommendations issued by your water company and for well water customers to cut back on unnecessary water usage.”

On July 14, Aquarion Water Company, which serves Norfolk and Salisbury, became the first water company in Connecticut to recommend voluntary conservation to its customers. However, a sampling of Norfolk customers revealed none who could recall any such recommendation from Aquarion. “All I’ve gotten from them is a bill!” Margaret O’Malley commented.

To date, 20 Connecticut water companies have requested voluntary conservation or imposed mandatory restrictions. The reservoirs in three major metropolitan areas—Danbury, Waterbury, and southeast Connecticut (Greenwich, Stamford, Darien and New Canaan)—have reached critically low levels. All three have requested emergency assistance from the DPH. The DPH is allowing water to be taken from other sources. In turn, those areas must ban excessive water use, such as outdoor watering. They must also test their water weekly for corrosion and toxins, which are increasing.

On Sept. 29, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated three Connecticut counties—Litchfield, Hartford, and Tolland—as “primary natural disaster areas” due to losses caused by the recent drought. Farmers in those areas became eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency,.

A month later, on Oct. 28, Gov. Malloy issued the first-ever Drought Watch for six of Connecticut’s counties and a Drought Advisory for the two eastern counties, Windham and New London. He asked that residents and businesses voluntarily reduce water use in the Drought Watch areas.

Many people might assume that the terms “Drought Watch” and “Drought Advisory” are similar to ones like “Storm Watch” or “High Wind Advisory”—that they refer to things imminent, that we need to watch out for. However, in fact, these terms best describe a horse that’s left the barn. They are based on data collected by state and federal agencies for at least three to five months.

So, for information we turn to state and federal sources—and to local experts.

Russell Russ is the meteorologist at Great Mountain Forest (GMF) in Norfolk, which is also a National Weather Service station. GMF has been recording local conditions for 85 years. As of Nov. 22, the annual precipitation at GMF is 15.37″ below normal—the driest year, so far, since 1965. Last year was also dry: about 11” below normal. So, we’re about two feet below normal, over the past two years.

Are the people at GMF worried about the drought?

“Not really . . . not yet, as long as our spring well doesn’t go dry. The animals are managing. The trees are managing. I’d say the invasive bugs—the emerald ash borer, the woolly adelgid—are more of a threat right now.”

But, after such a long dry period: Can our wells start to run dry?

John Allyn of the local well-drilling company, Louis E. Allyn & Sons, Inc., is optimistic. Although “everything you can see has obviously taken a big hit, like Tobey . . . the deep groundwater is not really impacted,” he said. Allyn & Sons have been busy, but “the only wells affected so far are the spring houses, some built 100 years ago or more,” which tend to be just 10 to 15 feet deep. “About 95 percent of all the wells in Norfolk are in bedrock,” he noted, and those are “generally full of water, and have tremendous pressure.”

How could a homeowner tell if her well was running dry? “Air will start mixing with the water, and the water will start burbling and spurting out of the pipes,” he said. Would one home’s water usage affect a neighbor? “We’re all connected,” Allyn replied. “Sure—a neighbor overdrawing could jeopardize your neighborhood. People should just not waste water.”

Looking ahead: We need precipitation—but a steady supply, falling over a period of days to weeks, that the ground can absorb, recharging our aquifers. The 14 inches of snow Norfolk received on Nov. 20 represents about one inch of water, according to Russell Russ. And we pray for a thick blanket of wet snow through the winter months, and gentle spring rains. Stay tuned.

Photographs of low water at Colebrook River Lake by Bruce Frisch.