With New Hampshire and other parts of New England facing the longest drought since 1965, Dartmouth students may be drinking fish-flavored water again this spring.
It may come as a surprise after recent snowfall, but the Hanover reservoir is currently running at 25 percent of its normal capacity, with the quality of the town's water supply diminishing as the water level declines, Pete Kulbacki of Hanover Water Works said.
The current low water levels are especially problematic for Hanover, as it has the last unfiltered surface water system in the state. The Hanover Water Works faces taste issues that filtered water systems do not, Kulbacki said.
"The fishy-tasting water has to do with chemical use. Chlorine dioxide reacts with organic matter in surface water. Basically what you are tasting is the gases that result from the reaction," he said. "In some areas the water may taste fishy; in other areas it may be skunky. It's certainly not pleasant, but it's suitable for consumption."
This taste problem that the town experiences every spring and fall will likely be exacerbated by the drought. The fall and winter melting and freezing cause sediment in the reservoir to rise, which worsens the taste. The closer the water works draws water from the bottom, the more sediment they will encounter.
These problems could be abated with a filtration system, an expensive proposition that could take up to three years to create if it were adopted by the water works. For now, fishy-tasting water is inevitable if the drought continues.
John Gratiot of Dartmouth Facilities Operations and Management noted that the College has not had to restrict water use.
"The town water supply is down, but we have yet to see any impact on the College," Gratiot said.
"A few years ago, we put in water-conserving fixtures on all lavatories and showers on the campus. That alone made a significant impact in our water consumption. Our opportunities for conservation above and beyond reduced lawn and playing field watering are pretty limited. We don't waste water here."
Effects at the state and local level could be more drastic if rains do not pick up in the next few weeks.
"Next month, if we haven't had any gains in precipitation, we will probably start talking about restriction measures, mostly outdoor watering," Kulbacki said. "There are 200 million gallons of water in snowpack right now, but we had 520 million in March last year. Typically we have a lot of rain in the spring."
The state's ground water-monitoring wells are at record lows, said Steve Taylor from the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture
"At the state level, we have a drought task force that has been meeting, but right now, because it's winter and the rates of evaporation and demand are down, we have not imposed restrictions. If we get to the middle of July and we're still not getting moisture, there are a lot of things we will have to do."
