Town of Hanover Water Restriction Emergency Update 6/17/26
Thank you to everyone who has already taken steps to reduce water consumption. We have seen encouraging signs that many residents and businesses are doing their part, and those efforts are helping. Yesterday, our water consumption was down nearly 24% compared to demand on Saturday, June 13, 2026. However, Hanover's water supply situation remains critical, and additional reductions in water use are still needed.
While overall demand has declined over the past few days, water consumption remains higher than our system can sustainably support and exceeds the levels authorized under our DEP withdrawal permit. As a community, we are consuming approximately 350,000 more gallons of water per day than we were at this same time last year. Our water treatment facilities continue to operate at maximum production capacity, yet our water storage reserves remain well below normal levels. Until we can consistently reduce demand and rebuild those reserves, our water supply remains vulnerable.
We ask all residents and businesses to continue conserving water and to comply with the outdoor water use ban. This includes irrigation, outdoor watering, pool filling, vehicle washing, pressure washing, and all other non-essential water use. We also encourage everyone to continue reducing indoor water use whenever possible.
Although overall water usage has declined over the past several days, we continue to observe irrigation systems operating overnight. Residential irrigation systems often use 15 to 20 gallons of water per minute, easily consuming 1,800 to 2,400 gallons of water during a single watering cycle. Irrigation remains one of the largest consumers of our limited water supply, and continued use significantly impacts our ability to replenish water reserves and maintain system reliability.
While rain is in the forecast, it is important to understand that our water supply challenges will not be resolved by a single rainfall event. Recovery depends on replenishing the aquifers that supply our wells and, more importantly, reducing community-wide water demand to a level that our system can reliably produce and store. This year, water consumption has increased beyond normal levels, placing significant strain on our available resources.
Continued conservation is essential to ensuring adequate water is available for public health, public safety, firefighting, and everyday household needs. The fastest and most effective way to restore our water reserves is for everyone to reduce their water use immediately and continue doing so until conditions improve.
We appreciate the cooperation and commitment shown by our community during this challenging period and ask that you remain vigilant in your conservation efforts. Every gallon saved helps protect Hanover's water supply and brings us one step closer to restoring our water system to stable operating conditions.