WATER SUPPLY LEVELS DROPPING; DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY RETURN
Call: Tony Young, 919-733-4064
June 25, 1999
RALEIGH -- Despite recent rains and cool weather, much of North Carolina could soon be under the same drought conditions that plagued the mountains and central Piedmont last fall and winter, the state’s Drought Monitoring Council announced today.
Water supply experts on the multi-agency task force reported stream flows in North Carolina are below normal (with continued decline likely) at the time of the year when crops are in a critical period, needing weekly rainfall to avoid reduced yields.
The council, in its first Drought Bulletin of 1999, reports many public water systems have had problems in meeting peak water demands caused by an increase in outdoor water use during the unusually warm and dry spring. Several water supply reservoirs already are below normal levels for summer. At least 20 public water systems have imposed voluntary or mandatory water conservation measures to reduce water demand.
Tony Young of the state’s Division of Water Resources and council chairman, said “the council is watching the state’s water supply situation very carefully. If dry conditions persist, conservation of water by all water systems will be critical. We are recommending all water systems closely monitor water supply and demand, both for groundwater and surface water. The council also is recommending local governments update their drought response plans and ordinances.”
The North Carolina mountains were hit last summer and fall with moderate to severe drought conditions that forced municipal and county water systems to institute widespread conservation measures. Asheville and Greensboro were particularly affected by low water levels in reservoirs that feed the two cities.
Dr. Sethu Raman, director of the State Climate Office and a council member, said the low rainfall amounts recorded over the past year “are classic La Nina or cooler Pacific Ocean temperature effects. The same situation exists in South Carolina and much of the Eastern United States seaboard.”
The fall and winter of 1999-2000, Raman said, “could be a carbon copy, to one degree or another, of what we went through in 1998-1999 in North Carolina.”
For more information on water supply levels, contact Tony Young in the Division of Water Resources in Raleigh at 919-733-4064 or visit the division’s web page at: www.dwr.ehnr.state.nc.us.
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Date Posted: 06/25/1999