Drought 2008

By PTRF RIVERKEEPER, Heather Jacobs Deck

 

Anyone who has crossed over the Tar River in the past few weeks has noticed an alarming site. Low river levels have re-emerged after a very dry end to what began as a wet spring. During the rains of late winter and early spring, reservoir levels across most of North Carolina rebounded. Groundwater levels improved, but continued to remain low as the summer approached. As local governments across the state lifted water conservation measures, the rains stopped and the heat and evaporation began. As of mid-October the NC Drought Management Advisory Council has classified most of the Tar-Pamlico River basin in moderate drought. Extreme drought continues in the western portion of the state.

As we entered the summer of 2008, we found that the state as a whole was much worse off heading into this summer season than it was in 2007. Table 1 below reveals that the number of counties that experienced a more severe level of drought grew since 2007. Drought indicator wells in the Tar-Pamlico River basin show that all 5 wells are at below average levels. Since June of 2007, the central coastal plain is 10.84 inches below normal. From a period of May 22, 2008 through June 20, 2008, this region is 2.85 inches below normal, or at about 1/3 of normal rainfall.

Along the Tar River, the communities of Louisburg, Rocky Mount, Tarboro, Greenville, and others rely on the river as their source for drinking water. By August-September of last year, the Town of Tarboro had about 6 inches of river water flowing into their water supply intake pipe. Many smaller streams dried up completely. Ecologically, this forces many aquatic organisms, including fish, to seek deeper and healthier waters. Fish can be especially prone to drought conditions, as they fight for limited food resources and cannot avoid crowded conditions. Such conditions cause increase levels of stress which can lead to higher mortalities and result in lower future populations that may take years to rebound.

So, even though we can’t control the weather, we can control our behaviors and we can let our legislators know that sensible water policies are a necessity for North Carolina. Once thought of as a water rich region, North Carolina can no longer afford to just hope for rain. With an estimated 29% increase in population over the next 25 years, North Carolinians must become water wise. On October 2007, Governor Easley challenged the state to reduce its water use by 50%. Most of the communities reduced their water use, but not many by half. But, the rains of winter seem to lure us back into a false sense of security and water demand has risen along with the heat. The Chatham water system, for example, is using double the amount of water today than they did in October of last year.

With approximately 40% of potable water supplies used for irrigation, the majority of conservation efforts could be achieved by utilizing rain harvesting tools to avoid using the tap for our grass, flowers and vegetables. But just as important as individual behavior changes, our government needs to step up and implement sensible water policies. This spring, Governor Easley proposed many good ideas to the general assembly for NC to effectively respond to the drought and water policy issues overall. That package was introduced as House Bill 2499, Drought/ Water Management Recommendations, sponsored by Rep. Lucy Allen (Franklin-D). The bill as originally proposed would have required better reporting of water use by agricultural users; prohibit water rate structures that reward people for wasting water; strengthen local and state water supply planning; allow use of gray water on gardens and lawns; encourage water systems to detect and fix leaks; and streamline emergency drought response. Also, environmental organizations across the state were fighting for an important provision that called for minimum conservation measures that would apply to all water systems in severe, extreme, or exceptional droughts.

 

Category	6/26/07	6/17/08
Exceptional	0	7
Extreme	6	33
Severe	15	16
Moderate	50	41
Abnormally Dry	29	3

Table 1: Comparison of the number of counties experiencing drought from June of 2007 and June 2008.

 

North Carolina is still in a drought; more than 50% of the state remains in some category of drought, with over one quarter of the counties continuing in severe or extreme drought.  Prompt action is needed to ensure that North Carolina puts in place stronger drought response measures to protect our economy and environment.  At the same time, it is important that this legislation not undermine the NC General Assembly’s ability to provide for wise management of our water resources in future legislative sessions.  

Environmental groups supported H2499, Drought/Water Management Recommendations, in the form that it reached the House Environment Committee following a stakeholder negotiation.  Unfortunately, in committee and on the floor of the House, damaging amendments were added that would unreasonably constrain North Carolina’s future options for wise water management. The good news is that almost all of the amendments were blocked and the bill has been passed and signed by the Governor. The bad news is that the League of Municipalities was successful in removing the provision that would set minimum conservation measures during the worst categories of drought, thereby weakening the bill. But overall, the bill will strengthen North Carolina’s response to future droughts. When it is enacted the bill will be a success story for PTRF and the efforts of our sister organizations. The drought legislation was one of the three priorities for Clean Water Lobby Day.

NOAA indicates that the drought is likely to improve over the next three months. We certainly hope the predictions are correct. However, North Carolina and the US can no longer afford to think of itself as water rich. Conservation is now the order of the day, and we all must do our part to ensure our rivers and streams remain ever flowing.