Connecticut Drought Information Center

A service of the Connecticut Water Planning Council

September 21, 2020 -- New London County was added to the list of counties experiencing Stage 2 Drought:

STAGE 1 -- BELOW NORMAL CONDITIONS for Fairfield, New Haven, and Middlesex counties

Residents and businesses in Stage 1 locations should be alert to the potential for worsening conditions and be prepared to follow state or local conservation guidelines if issued.


STAGE 2 -- INCIPIENT DROUGHT for Hartford, Litchfield, New London, Tolland, and Windham counties

Residents and businesses in Stage 2 locations are asked to voluntarily take the following measures to aid in minimizing future drought impact:

Reduce outdoor irrigation and other non-essential outdoor uses of water
Postpone the planting of any new lawns or vegetation (if new plantings cannot be postponed, consider drought-tolerant species)
Minimize overall water use by fixing leaky plumbing and fixtures
Follow conservation requests or mandates issued by public water systems, municipalities, or state agencies

The Interagency Drought Work Group is meeting regularly to review conditions and make preparations in accordance with the Connecticut Drought Preparedness and Response Plan.  Some public water utilities have reached drought thresholds and have issued voluntary or mandatory conservation alerts.  Plan to conserve water and follow state or local conservation guidelines if issued.

The Interagency Drought Work Group met most recently on 9/17/2020.  Conditions were noted to have deteriorated in southeastern Connecticut and New London County was added to the list of counties experiencing Stage 2 drought.  The next meeting is scheduled for 10/8/2020.

The next update is expected on or before 10/12/2020.

Latest communications and correspondence:

• 9/21/2020 Press Release
• 8/26/2020 Press Release
• 8/13/2020 Update
• 6/19/2020 Memo to Governor Lamont: Stage 1 Alert

The CT Interagency Drought Work Group is scheduled to meet again 9/03/2020

9/17/2020 meeting:   Agenda  Handout  Draft Minutes  Recording

9/03/2020 meeting:   Agenda  Handout 1  Handout 2  Draft Minutes  Recording

8/20/2020 meeting:   Agenda  Handout  Minutes  Recording

7/23/2020 meeting:  Agenda  Minutes  Recording

7/9/2020 meeting:  Agenda   Minutes   Recording

6/30/2020 meeting:  Agenda   Minutes    Recording

Drought Information Resources:

• U.S. Drought Monitor
• Data and Reports
• CT Drought Preparedness and Response Plan
• Interagency Drought Workgroup

What can I do to conserve water?

• Set a voluntary water use reduction goal of 10 or 15%, depending on drought declaration for your area
• Cut back on unnecessary water use, such as watering lawns, washing cars, or filling fish ponds and swimming pools
• Put water conservation tips into practice
• Follow the requests and recommendations of your local water utility 

For local governments:

• Model water use restriction ordinance (coming soon)
• Links to drought ordinances by town (coming soon)
• Municipal drought coordinator contact information (coming soon)