Region 1: EPA New England
Drought in New England Brings Home Need for Water Conservation
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
By Robert Varney
April 2002
"And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way."
– John Steinbeck, "East of Eden"
The word "drought" is now firmly embedded in the New England lexicon. With each day, week and month of dry weather this past winter, warnings of drought and near-drought conditions grew louder and louder. And while the region has recently been treated to rain, the threat is as real as ever.
New England's winter snowfalls and rains are the foundation of our water supplies. It is the key time when the melting snowpack and rains recharge our aquifers, wetlands, rivers, streams, lakes, drinking water reservoirs and private wells.
Reservoirs that normally would be brimming with water are at their lowest capacity in recent memory. Rushing streams have been reduced to a trickle. And private wells are failing. More than 1,000 have dried up in Maine already and thousands more are at their lowest levels in a century.
It will take months of above average rainfall to make up the water deficit. Local and state drought emergencies – if not already declared – are a real possibility this spring and summer. That could mean water use restrictions, bans or, at the worst, water rationing which would have a significant impact on all of us, including businesses.
Imagine power plants having to scale back energy production because water levels are so low there isn't enough water to cool the turbines.
Imagine firefighters not having enough water to put out a house fire or forest fire.
Imagine livestock not having enough water to survive.
In the words of New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen: "Water has become the oil, the gold of this century."
But droughts are more than just an inconvenience to New England residents and businesses. Water is the foundation for much more.
Already the U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared Maine, with an agricultural sector worth $1.2 billion, a disaster area because of the drought.
Ecosystems and wildlife also are jeopardized. Lower water levels mean higher concentrations of pollutants and contaminants in lakes and streams. It also means higher temperatures and less oxygen in water – conditions that spell trouble for trout and other cold water-loving fish populations.
All of this leads to conservation and its critical importance. Even during years when aquifers and reservoirs are at their peaks, water conservation is important.
We understand that many New Englanders already are suffering from this water shortage. Now is the time where each and every one of us can do their part.
Among the actions New Englanders can take to save water: refrain
from watering your lawn; run your dishwasher only when its full;
install low-flow shower heads. These and many other tips are available
online at:
www.epa.gov/region1/eco/drinkwater/water_conservation.html
Businesses also have a responsibility to cut their water use. EPA
has numerous voluntary programs underway to encourage companies
to conserve. The 50 New England companies participating in our Metal
Finishing Strategic Goals Program, for example, have cut their overall
water use by 41 percent. We're also working with office buildings
and schools to become more water efficient. Information on this
voluntary WAVE program and our businesses for drinking water recognition
program is available at:
www.epa.gov/region1/eco/drinkwater.
Municipalities and wastewater treatment plant operators also can take steps to cut down on the amount of rainwater and groundwater that's going to treatment plants, before being flushed into rivers and harbors, instead of replenishing the region's aquifers. For example, nearly half of the 380 million gallons of wastewater sent to Boston's Deer Island sewage treatment plant each day is groundwater that infiltrated the wastewater collection system.
We need to employ practices to slow and sanitize rainwater so that it can restore groundwater supplies. We need to find creative ways to store rainwater for everyday applications. We need to plan and control development to minimize impervious surfaces that exacerbate runoff to the detriment of our aquifers.
What is crucial is that conservation needs to start and it needs to start now. And it needs to go beyond the current drought. As New England grows, the demand for water will grow, during times of plenty and times of shortage. Water conservation needs be engrained in all New Englanders.
As Steinbeck said, "during the wet years, they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way." It doesn't have to be that way. Let's practice water conservation now and in the future.
Robert W. Varney is regional administrator of EPA's New England Office