Date: Fri 07-Jul-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: AMYD

Quick Words:

weather-dry-drought-rain

Full Text:

IT'S THE DRYEST SUMMER IN 30 YEARS (A1)

B Y A MY D'O RIO

In 1964, only 23 inches of rain fell in the Bridgeport area. The average has

been 43.6 inches a year.

While this year probably will not be as dry as 1964, it might match the

droughts in 1981 and 1986, when only 32 to 34 inches of rain fell in the

Bridgeport area, said Chris Wasserback, a forecaster with Western Connecticut

State University's weather center.

That probably is not surprising, since many people have burnt out lawns, and

it is early July.

Shallow wells are starting to go dry, and certainly, gardens are suffering.

As of July 4, 15.24 inches of rain had fallen in Bridgeport, about six inches

short of the norm.

In Danbury, 16.34 inches of rain has fallen since the year began, about 8

inches shy of the norm of 24.29 inches.

Connecticut, however, is doing well compared to more northern states.

½Vermont is bone dry,¾ Mr Wasserback said.

The lack of rain is not due to a lack of wet fronts. A high pressure system

over Connecticut ends up weakening many of storms and wet fronts that come

this way.

So, Pennsylvania and Ohio are getting drenched, and Connecticut is drying up.

The Newtown residents getting water from United Water Connecticut, Inc.,

should not have a problem this summer, however.

Kevin Moran, the manager, said there are two deep wells in drought resistant

areas supplying his 1,000 Newtown accounts. The wells are capable of providing

1.5 million gallons a day, and currently Newtowners are using 350,000 gallons

per day.

Residents with shallow wells, 100 feet deep or less, need to watch it though.

Henry Boyd of Boyd Artesian Wells Company, Inc., said he is starting to get

calls about wells drying up. He said he is telling his customers to go easy.

He recommends eliminating watering plants and washing cars. A hose will let

out about 5 gallons of water per minute, so 10 minutes of watering amounts to

50 gallons.

½Watering is the biggest offender,¾ he said.

He also advised homeowners to fix any dripping faucet or running toilet

because it can waste a 1,000 gallons of water a day.

However, gardeners struggling to keep the tomatoes and flowers productive,

have been watering heavily to keep the plants healthy.

Judy Bowen, the greenhouse manager at Lexington Gardens, suggests people put

out rain buckets. She said this can help ease the burden on the wells.

She recommends watering early in the morning to avoid having the water

evaporate. Less water will evaporate then.

Ms Bowen also warns gardeners that if they are not going to water their lawn,

to water it a lot or not at all. Watering it a little, she said, encourages

the grass to put out new roots, but those roots will die quickly. It is

better, she said, to let the grass go dormant.