The issue of how water flows through the state’s dams and into rivers and streams isn’t likely to be on the minds of most business owners.
But proposed rules that will regulate the management of water stream flow would have a bearing on the cost of doing business in Connecticut.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has proposed new guidelines to regulate stream flow standards, raising concerns among water utility companies officials who say the rules could lead to water shortages and rate increases for consumers.
State officials and environmentalists tell the Hartford Business Journal’s Greg Bordonaro that the new guidelines strike an essential balance between protecting stream flow needs to support human uses while maintaining the ecological health of the state’s waters.
Certain streams and rivers suffer from severe water flow shortages, which puts their aquatic life in jeopardy, DEP officials say.
The new rules update the state’s 36 year-old stream flow regulations and expand the standards to all rivers and streams in the state, rather than only those stocked with fish as was the case previously. Essentially, the rules would redirect water into rivers and streams that have shortages and away from human use.
The proposed regulations were developed by multiple advisory groups, which included members from state and federal government agencies, environmental groups, scientists, utility companies, and trade associations.
They call for all rivers and streams in the state to be classified into one of four classes, with each class representing a different balancing of human use and ecological health priorities.
Elizabeth Gara, executive director of The Connecticut Water Works Association, which represents water utility companies, said her organization supports the goal of preserving marine life, but that the proposed regulations go too far.
“Unfortunately, they may wind up protecting the states aquatic life to the detriment of human life,” Gara told Bordonaro.
Gara said CWWA is concerned that the amount of water required to be released from reservoirs and the limits on groundwater withdrawals will jeopardize public safety and health by severely limiting the amount of water available for public use, potentially causing some utilities to impose frequent and lengthy water-use restrictions.
The new rules could also undermine economic recovery in many areas of the state by reducing the amount of water supplies available for day-to-day business operations and forcing moratoriums on new construction and expansion in some communities hit hard by the regulations.
The regulations could also impose costly burdens on towns and cities, including multi-million dollar costs to modify dams and pipes, develop new reservoirs and storage capacity, and hire additional personnel.
All of those factors could “significantly increase customer rates in most areas,” Gara said.
Officials in the town of Southington say the new regulations would prevent them from adding more homes or businesses to their water system and require existing customers to use less water, unless they are able to locate new sources of supply.
Developing regulations to protect aquatic life is a worthy effort. But it’s critical that stakeholders such as business groups, utility companies and municipalities have their interests protected when final decisions are made.
Business owners should take note that the DEP is accepting public comments on the proposed regulations until earlier February.
