Utility and municipal officials are asking Seacoast residents to take more water conservation measures as the state’s dry spell continues.
Almost all of the state is rated abnormally dry in the current National Drought Monitor. Parts of the Connecticut River Valley are in drought and the state is well below normal precipitation levels over the past year.
Local and state officials remain worried that without more sustained rainfall, New Hampshire could be on track for another drought. Similar conditions last year disrupted water supplies last summer and fall.
Customers of the Aquarion Water Company in Rye, Hampton and North Hampton are now being asked to voluntarily follow an alternating schedule for outdoor water use. It asks residents to water only on Sundays and Tuesdays or Wednesdays, depending on their address.
The city of Dover has been urging voluntary water conservation since April. And Portsmouth says it’s considering water restrictions too.
The Seacoast was among the areas most affected by last year’s drought. Many private wells ran dry across the state, and groundwater levels remain low after a short winter left little time for them to recharge.
