Several New Hampshire towns are taking steps to conserve water as dry conditions continue in the state.Lebanon is at a Level 2 water restriction, which means there are some limits to outdoor water use. City officials said they’re trying to avoid problems with the water supply by asking residents to be a bit more mindful about their water use. Under the restrictions, even-numbered houses can use water outdoors on even dates, and odd numbered street addresses can water on odd dates. The restriction for lawns and gardens is for daytime hours, and the Department of Public Works said there are no restrictions for watering outdoor vegetable gardens. Officials said they’re not concerned about Lebanon’s water supply yet. The state-controlled dam on the Mascoma River is the city’s only water supply.”The big problem is, if we draw down our storage and we’re not able to replenish it quickly, then we run into trouble,” said Jay Cairelli, director of Lebanon Public Works. “We’re not in that scenario now, but we want to do our part to keep everything as high as we can, keep the levels up so that we don’t end up in that scenario.”The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor showed that most of New Hampshire is in moderate to severe drought. A portion of the state that includes most of the southern half of Grafton County is in extreme drought.At Poverty Lane Orchards, workers said their operations have not taken a big hit because of the drought, but the dry conditions have made an impact.”Our ponds are dry, the ones that are fed by surface water,” said co-owner Steven Wood. “That’s affected a few things we need water for. We’ve had to use groundwater for things we wish we had not.”He said the the orchard’s deep-rooted trees retain a lot of water, and he expects to be in good shape for apple-picking season.
Several New Hampshire towns are taking steps to conserve water as dry conditions continue in the state.
Lebanon is at a Level 2 water restriction, which means there are some limits to outdoor water use.
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City officials said they’re trying to avoid problems with the water supply by asking residents to be a bit more mindful about their water use.
Under the restrictions, even-numbered houses can use water outdoors on even dates, and odd numbered street addresses can water on odd dates. The restriction for lawns and gardens is for daytime hours, and the Department of Public Works said there are no restrictions for watering outdoor vegetable gardens.
Officials said they’re not concerned about Lebanon’s water supply yet. The state-controlled dam on the Mascoma River is the city’s only water supply.
“The big problem is, if we draw down our storage and we’re not able to replenish it quickly, then we run into trouble,” said Jay Cairelli, director of Lebanon Public Works. “We’re not in that scenario now, but we want to do our part to keep everything as high as we can, keep the levels up so that we don’t end up in that scenario.”
The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor showed that most of New Hampshire is in moderate to severe drought. A portion of the state that includes most of the southern half of Grafton County is in extreme drought.
At Poverty Lane Orchards, workers said their operations have not taken a big hit because of the drought, but the dry conditions have made an impact.
“Our ponds are dry, the ones that are fed by surface water,” said co-owner Steven Wood. “That’s affected a few things we need water for. We’ve had to use groundwater for things we wish we had not.”
He said the the orchard’s deep-rooted trees retain a lot of water, and he expects to be in good shape for apple-picking season.
