Utility asking for 10% reduction in water use by commercial, residential customers

As drought conditions in the region continue into the winter months, Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) continues to operate under a Water Supply Warning and has put into place water conservation measures for both commercial and residential until conditions improve.

“We are rapidly approaching a serious water supply situation and strongly encourage our customers to be aware how they are using water,” said John Bilda, General Manager of NPU. “While we have plenty of water right now, we’re hoping customers can reduce their water use by 10% as we manage through this challenging time.”

As of the end of December, NPU’s total reservoir capacity is approximately 53%. At 100% capacity, NPU’s two reservoirs have nearly1.8 billion gallons of water, enough for 321 days of supply.

As part of the Water Supply Warning, NPU is taking a number of operational steps to conserve its water supply, including:

• Contacting major water users to determine the potential for emergency water conservation and request that they reduce consumption
• Evaluating emergency supply options such as bringing the Norwichtown Well online which can provide NPU with an extra 1 million gallons of water per day.

The Small Business Administration offers water conservation tips that can help businesses save money and water without impacting their operations.