Particularly hot, dry weather this summer has reduced water supplies locally and statewide, prompting the University of Connecticut to issue a water supply advisory on July 6 for the Storrs campus and surrounding community.

Although there is adequate water to meet current needs, the advisory asks that those on campus and area residents take steps to conserve water. If water supply levels continue to drop, the University will adopt further conservation measures.

Water levels are monitored daily and tend to fall during the summer months.

The following message is from Eugene Roberts, director of facilities operations at UConn, to University water system users.

As seasonally dry conditions have reduced area streamflows, UConn is issuing this Water Supply/Drought Advisory to enlist your cooperation in conserving water until further notice.

The University’s water supply remains adequate to meet current and forecasted system demands and any potential emergency needs such as firefighting. Nevertheless, the University is committed to operating an environmentally sustainable water supply system, and, given current conditions and rainfall forecast, we are asking our students, faculty, and staff as well as our water supply systems’ off-campus municipal, commercial, and residential users to be conscientious about their daily water use and to conserve water voluntarily by:

• Taking shorter showers;
• Running dishwashers and clothes washing machines with full loads;
• Shutting off water while washing dishes, shaving, brushing teeth, and lathering up to wash hands, rather than running the water continuously;
• Avoiding vehicle washing or power-washing homes and other buildings;
• Not using water to clean sidewalks, driveways, and roads;
• Reducing, to the extent possible, the watering of lawns, recreational, and athletic fields, gardens, or other landscaped areas (if watering is essential, late-evening hours are best);
• Not using public water to fill residential swimming pools.

In issuing this Water Supply/Drought Advisory, we encourage all of our water system users to play their part to help reduce daily demand.

Thank you for your help and we appreciate your cooperation. UConn is actively monitoring conditions and will continue to provide updates as conditions change. For further information about the University’s water supply system, conservation activities and updates on conditions, please visit UConn’s Facilities Operations website.