GOAL:
Balance competing and conflicting uses for Connecticut's surface and ground water resources.

OBJECTIVE:
Resolve water use conflicts and effectively manage water resources through development of a comprehensive water allocation program.

STATUS AND TRENDS:
Surface and ground waters are limited in both quantity and quality, unequally distributed throughout the state, and subject to increasing multiple use and jurisdictional demands. The many competing and conflicting demands for the allocation of Connecticut's water resources include water supply, ecological habitat support, waste assimilation, navigation, water-based recreation, flood control, energy production, and natural aesthetics. Water allocation decisions continue to be hampered due to lack of a comprehensive, centralized data base on resource availability and water use needs. DEP has identified over 80 basins of concern with regard to quantity, quality and the availability of water for allocation to future uses. The Quinnipiac River Basin is on e example of a watershed where withdrawals have exceeded the limits that the natural system can support. Developing flow management plans which limit diversions during low flows, upgrading existing sewage treatments - which would be prohibitively expensive, diverting water from outside of the basin - which could meet with considerable opposition, or ultimately limiting growth are among the only available options to address problems of this nature. The Diversion Permitting Program provides an allocation mechanism for new uses, but does not address existing problems.

STRATEGIES:

1. Develop adequate information on available water resources within the State's Geographic Information System including flow, geologic, habitat and regulatory information to facilitate siting decisions.
2. Establish threshold data for critical resource needs, including minimum stream flow requirements, in watersheds where water use conflicts are ongoing or are likely to occur.
3. Complete diversion registration reviews in the following order: public water utilities, agricultural, industrial and recreational uses.
4. Synthesize resource and allocation data to assess water usage on a watershed basis allowing the Department to make effective and efficient resource management decisions.
5. Develop a mechanism for reserving the rights for future water use, in association with approved utility and area wide water supply plans for future public water supplies.
6. Continue educational outreach programs to promote efficient permit review processes and facilitate water allocation decisions.
7. Develop priorities for water use on a drainage basin basis to help in balancing applications before the federal Energy Regulatory Commission for new or relicensed hydroelectric facilities against other interests such as fisheries and wildlife habitat, recreation and aesthetics.
8. Develop a mechanism to resolve existing conflicts.
9. Complete and effectively implement the Long-Range Water Resources Management Plan required under Sec. 22a-352 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
10. Monitor proposals for the diversion of interstate watercourses that impact the availability of water in Connecticut for public and environmental needs and take appropriate actions to protect State interests.