Faye Longo first noticed her spring-fed well was starting to run dry in late July. It started with low water pressure. She and her family did everything they could to conserve water, but ultimately, it failed.

“I had no water,” she said. “And I have an 11-year-old child, and I have dogs and cats and chickens.”

Much of New England is facing dry conditions or drought. That’s put a strain on drinking water resources in some states — including Vermont — and led to hundreds of wells running dry.

It’s a scenario Longo never thought she’d face. She bought her home in South Royalton several years ago — her first house.

In the months before her well ran dry, she called 17 well drillers before she found one that could come to her property in early September.

“I had to take out a second mortgage

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