By Kim Colavito Markesich
While Connecticut residents live in a state with ample water resources, we are beginning to notice some changes in precipitation trends.
“Connecticut is very fortunate as we’re actually quite water rich,” says Angie Murdukhayeva, research assistant in UConn Extension. “We are getting rainfall, but there’s a shift in what we are beginning to experience, and what scientists expect to continue, which is more intense rain events less frequently. This type of rainfall can lead to drought conditions for agricultural producers.”
In 2015, Connecticut requested over $8 million dollars in federal emergency loans to be made available for crop losses due to moderate drought conditions across the state.
Mike O’Neill, associate dean and associate director of UConn Extension, and Murdukhayeva are working on a two-year water conservation project funded through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Funding is provided through a $400,000 NRCS grant matched 1:1 by the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources.
