East Lyme ― The Water and Sewer Department has targeted a reduction in the use of lawn sprinklers as its first line of defense against the continuing drought.

Matthew Garneau, the town’s assistant utility engineer, said the department is limiting homes and businesses to a twice-per-week irrigation schedule.

“We’re focusing on irrigation because we really believe that is one of the number one usages of water,” Garneau said. “If people can just scale back on that, we think it’s going to make a big difference.”

He said the restrictions do not apply to farmers.

Utilities engineer Ben North said demand is increasing at the same time the town’s allotted water supply from New London is close to maxing out for the season.

The regional water interconnection, which was first used in 2014 to alleviate summer water shortages, allows the town to draw water from New London during the warmer months and to bank its water in the cooler months.

“We’ve already used, I would say, 95% of what our contract allows for,” North said. “They’re going to allow us to continue to draw some water on an emergency basis, but they have to look out for their supplies as well.”

The rest of the supply typically comes from the town’s seven wells. But one of them is offline pending final approval from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) after it was recently replaced using $920,000 in federal pandemic-relief funding. State stream flow restrictions also have required the department to temporarily shut down one additional well and reduce production on two others because there’s not enough water flowing in nearby rivers and streams, according to North.

The DEEP stream flow standards were established amid controversy in 2011 to protect water bodies by balancing ecology and consumption.

East Lyme’s water system currently serves 15,245 customers, according to North. The US Census put the town’s population at 18,693 in 2020.

North cited production levels of 3 million gallons of water per day over the past month, which he described as “unprecedented.” He estimated a sustainable level would be closer to 2.2-2.5 million gallons per day.

“The wells that are running right now are running at the max rates we can handle, and I don’t know for how long they’ll be able to do that,” he said.

The National Weather Service reports a severe drought in the counties of New London and Windham, as well as part of Middlesex. That level of drought affects the size and amount of crops produced by local farmers, reduces air quality and increases the danger associated with outdoor burning.

Connecticut’s Office of Policy and Management a month ago announced that all of the state’s eight counties have entered a Stage 2 drought, or an “emerging drought event.” OPM spokesman Chris Collibee this week said the state’s Interagency Drought Work Group will meet again Thursday to see if changes to the drought level are warranted.

Collibee noted portions of Rhode Island and Massachusetts are reporting extreme drought conditions.

“That’s certainly more concerning. And that’s not that far away from us,” he said.

Officials in East Lyme said if it doesn’t start to rain and if residents don’t conserve existing resources, the department will have to ban all irrigation as well as activities such as car washing.

North recalled an even more extensive ban 10 years ago that prevented restaurants from serving tap water in the dry years before the interconnection with New London was established.

“The interconnect has allowed us to have much more water available than we normally would, but we’re seeing an unprecedented level of water production right now,” he said. “We produced 80 million gallons last month and we typically only produce 60 during our peak times.”

Addresses that end in 0 or an even number can water on Sundays and Wednesdays from 12:01 to 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. to midnight. Those ending in odd numbers can water Saturdays and Tuesdays from 12:01 to 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. to midnight. Those with no address number can water Sundays and Wednesdays from 12:01 to 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. to midnight.