UConn Cuts Water Use:
Long Dry Run Forces Conservation Calls

By STEPHANIE SUMMERS

August 12, 2007

STORRS -- Last week, when the Fenton River dipped to an anemic flow due to a lack of rain, the University of Connecticut did just what it was supposed to: It stopped pumping from its Fenton well field and issued a conservation alert asking its water users to voluntarily cut back.

Almost two years ago, when the university was less mindful of water management during a seasonal drought, its continued pumping led to drying up part of the Fenton River.

But even with last week's quick steps, some still fret over what might happen in two weeks when students return, raising the number of water system users to 25,000.

The alert also has environmentalists and Mansfield residents questioning how UConn can promise to provide water and sewer service to the $165 million Storrs Center project, with its projected 700 to 800 housing units, and a proposed off-campus apartment and townhouse complex that would house more than 600 students on Hunting Lodge Road.

"To me, this current water condition says a lot about the wisdom of making these commitments," said Vicky Wetherell, board member and former president of the Willimantic River Alliance.

But Richard A. Miller, UConn's director of environmental policy, says the university is on top of saving water, on both behavioral and technological fronts, and has developed its "environmental ethic." For now, even with steady rain Friday, UConn is keeping its alert in place while officials monitor river stability.

"If we don't get [enough] rain, we might have to call on our supplies in storage. But we might be able to handle it with our drawing on the Willimantic well field," Miller said.

The university draws most of its water from the Willimantic River, where its registered limit is 2.3 million gallons per day, compared with 844,000 gallons per day from the Fenton. But a study of the Fenton showed the university limit was impractical; a similar study of the Willimantic has not yet been started. Miller concedes, "We don't know what impact our pumping on the Willimantic River has."

Conditions have been dry in eastern Connecticut, but the rest of the state is not suffering, said Eric Thomas of the state Department of Environmental Protection's bureau of water protection and land reuse. His agency is monitoring conditions and will meet this week to discuss some large water users, including UConn, he said.

Denise Burchsted, executive director of the Naubesatuck Watershed Council, said that groundwater in Mansfield is also low and that without steady, soaking rains, it is unlikely to rebound until the leaves fall in October. She called Friday's rain "a great storm" but said several more like it would be needed to make a healthy difference.

Wetherell noted that the UConn master water plan released in May determined that UConn's pumping at the permitted limit on the Willimantic could not be sustained.

"Water is a finite resource, and if you're going to have a water system, you need to know what is your capacity. And right now the university does not know that," Wetherell said.


Alert Reaction

Most weren't alarmed by Monday's alert.

Mike Baker has lived on Eastwood Road for eight years and uses university water.

He said, "I'm more conservative about washing my dishes and my clothes. I'm sensitive to that, I'm a team player. But I'm not going to stop taking showers and go to the bathroom and only flush every three days."

Baker said he has never lost water in his 44 years in Connecticut and relies on the water managers to get it right. "If they can get water in Arizona, they should be able to get water in Storrs. So I'm not concerned."

Some local business owners on the UConn system said they were not notified directly of the alert and were unaffected.

Don Fenton, owner of coin laundries in the University and Starbucks plazas, said his business has been upgrading machines over the past year to reduce water consumption.

Students who are living on or near campus have expressed little concern about the water alert despite relying on the university to supply their water.

"I don't think it's a concern for anyone," said Kayla Tencate, who is renting a house on Route 195 for the summer. "I haven't even considered it in my routine - I just use as much water as I want to."


Save, Save, Save

Water resources are expected to be a central topic at two upcoming public hearings - Sept. 4 before the Mansfield Inland Wetland Commission on the Storrs Center project, and Sept. 17 before both the inland wetland and planning and zoning commissions on the Ponde Place apartment complex proposal.

UConn has taken many steps to reduce its water consumption, which is 250,000 gallons a day lower than its peak in the early part of the decade, Miller said. It has done so by fixing leaks, installing automated controls and building energy efficient buildings, such as the Burton Family Football Complex and Mark R. Shenkman Training Center.

This summer, UConn drastically reduced the water it was drawing from the Fenton and Willimantic rivers.

On Aug. 1, the UConn trustees also approved $250,000 to design a facility to reuse treated wastewater for cooling and irrigation. It is expected to save an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 gallons of potable water a day.

Under an agreement with the state, UConn has developed a water conservation plan and recently won DEP approval of its aquifer protection area on the Willimantic well field. Miller projects the Willimantic River study will be started in early 2008 and will take two years or less.

Miller said the daily demand can spike in the fall semester to more than 2 million gallons, approaching the Willimantic pumping limit. But he looks forward to measuring a possible decline in use this year because of the recent improvements.

If the water level in a 5-million-gallon underground reservoir, which is maintained at 13 to 14 feet, falls below 10 feet for three consecutive days, the university will move to the "warning" stage, when conservation steps become mandatory, Miller said.

But for now, rather than seeing the conservation alert as a negative for students, Miller thinks it's a moment for teaching.

"Especially the incoming freshmen, we try to educate them early about sustainable behaviors," he said.

Courant Staff Writer Melissa Bruen contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2007, The Hartford Courant