While rainfall of up to 2 inches expected this week will ease the strain on the region’s water supply, it won’t be enough to make up for the drought conditions that began this summer and are expected to persist into the fall.

Statewide, cumulative rainfall totals are 18 inches to 28 inches lower than normal for the year, and were also below normal for the previous two years, Chris McClure, spokesman for the state’s Interagency Drought Workgroup, said Monday. The state has been in a “Drought Advisory” status since June but may soon be shifted to the more serious “Drought Watch” based on seven criteria, triggering a series of actions to conserve water supplies. The “advisory” status is the lowest of the four stages used by the working group to evaluate drought conditions, and “watch” is the second lowest.

“There are a lot of indications we will go to a Drought Watch,” he said.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, about 70 percent of the state including New London County is in a “severe drought.” The remainder of the state is in a “moderate drought.”

Gary Lessor, meteorologist and assistant director with The Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, said that New London County has had just 12.44 inches of rainfall thus far this year, about 23 inches below normal. Despite the rainfall expected this week, prospects for more significant rainfall in the near future are slim, Lessor said, but winter could be wetter than normal due to a weak El Nino system.

“The fall should remain dry,” he said. “But we could make up for it this winter.”

Because of the prolonged drought, Norwich Public Utilities on Monday became the latest local public water system to ask customers to curtail water use. Under its Water Supply Watch, NPU issued an appeal for residential and commercial customers to voluntarily minimize all non-essential water use, included reducing lawn and garden watering, reducing car washing and installing water-saving fixtures.

NPU said its two reservoirs, located in Lebanon and Montville, are at 65.6 percent of capacity, which is about 215 days of supply. At 100 percent of capacity, the reservoirs hold 321 days of supply.

The utility also announced that it is taking steps to conserve its water supply, including:

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[naviga:li]maximizing supplies with in-house management measures, such as reviewing and adjusting leak detection and repair systems;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]postponing non-essential repairs that could cause reduced supply;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]reducing internal water use by eliminating hydrant flushing.[/naviga:li]

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NPU’s announcement came three days after Aquarion Water Co., which serves 8,800 customers in Mystic and Stonington, instituted a mandatory ban on the use of all outdoor watering devices, including irrigation systems, sprinklers, soaker hoses, and hand-held hoses. Customers have also been asked to turn off irrigation systems and sprinklers for the season.

Peter Fazekas, spokesman for Aquarion, said Monday that the company’s Mystic reservoir is at about 40 percent of capacity.

Officials at other public water systems in the region said they are monitoring the situation closely. Voluntary restrictions are in place at two other water systems in the region, the one that serves East Lyme residents and another that serves the Montville Manor neighborhood.

“We’re not at the trigger level yet, but we’re not too far off,” said Joseph Lanzafame, director of public utilities for the New London water system, which serves customers in the city and in Waterford. “If we have another two weeks with no rain, we may have to think about restrictions.”

The system’s main reservoir, Lake Konomoc, is at about 53 percent of capacity, he said, and all the reservoirs in the system combined are at about 39 percent, he said. Heavy rain in New London and other coastal towns earlier this month was not seen inland where the system's reservoirs are located, Lanzafame added.

Because of the drought, the fall foliage season is expected to be shorter than normal, said Chris Martin, director of the forestry division of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Due to warm weather this month, peak colors are expected around Oct. 24 — about a week later than normal — but trees are likely to shed their leaves quickly due to the lack of rainfall, he said. The forest fire danger in the state is currently rated as “moderate.”

Many trees around the state are additionally stressed by the gypsy moth infestation this summer. The trees denuded by the insects were unable to recovery quickly due to the dry conditions, he said.

One local area where trees have been particularly hard hit is a 240-acre oak and pine grove in Patchaug State Forest in Griswold and Voluntown, Martin said. There trees stripped bare by the gypsy moths are showing only weak signs of recovery and will be harvested before they die, Martin said. DEEP crews will cut any that posing an immediate danger to the public and contract out the rest to a private forester, he said.

Jeff Ward, chief scientist in the forestry division of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, said the state could lose many more trees in the next couple of years due to the drought and gypsy moths. The lumber is much more valuable when trees are cut while still alive, he said. Additionally, trees cut down before they are completely dead can re-sprout.

“It’s a way to rejuvenate a tree,” he said.

While forests and reservoirs in the region are seeing the impacts of the drought, orchard and vegetable farmers said their harvests have not been severely reduced.

Rick Whittle, owner of Whittle’s Willow Spring Farm in Groton, said corn and pumpkin crops have fared well, with the help of irrigation earlier in the season. Apples trees are heavy with fruit, but some rain this week would fatten them up for pick-your-own customers, he said.

Tom Scott, owner of Scott’s Yankee Farmer in East Lyme, said the apples in his orchards are “not quite as big” as they usually are, but pick-your-own customers will find plenty of fruit.

“If we get a little bit of rain, the apples will grow quickly,” he said.

Throughout the summer and into the fall, he said, the farm’s six irrigation ponds have been tapped to keep the corn and vegetable crops watered.

Holmberg Orchards in Gales Ferry also relied on irrigation more than usual this season for its fruit and vegetable crops, said Russell Holmberg, manager of the farm. Water for the irrigation come from wells on the 50-acre farm and the local public water supply.

“The size of our apples is a down a little, but the flavor is outstanding,” he said. “Because of the drought, the flavor is sweeter and more concentrated.”

j.benson@theday.com

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