Water supply for Maine’s Navy shipyard is draining months ahead of schedule

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 1, 2026

Water levels in ponds that supply Kittery remain 12 feet below normal heading into winter, and there is no end in sight to conservation measures now approaching their eighth week. The rare shortage comes just as the district heads into its hardest period. Demand from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which uses more than half of the district’s water, rises in winter, while freezing temperatures lock up rain and snow that would refill the ponds. Kittery officials are asking the state to look at the shipyard’s plans for its water system.