Despite the rain, drought conditions continue in Virginia (copy) (copy) (copy) (copy)
Recent rains haven’t ended Virginia’s drought, the worst since 1941.
With rainfall several inches below normal, almost all of the state is officially under a drought warning, which means the onset of a major drought is imminent, the Department of Environmental Quality’s latest drought map shows.
Water utilities in the Richmond region said the voluntary water conservation measures they’ve asked residents to adopt remain in effect.
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“Recent rain helps keep us at voluntary conservation measures and away from mandatory measures,” said Rhonda Johnson, spokesperson for the Richmond Department of Public Utilities.
“We will remain in voluntary (measures) while carefully watching,” she said.
The James River — where Richmond and Henrico County draw their water — levels at the Wetham gauge measured at 3.4 feet, down from 3.68 feet two weeks ago, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
Reservoirs generally are in fairly good shape across the state, except in Southside Virginia and Hampton Roads, the DEQ drought map shows.
The water level at the Swift Creek Reservoir, which accounts for much of Chesterfield County's supply, stands at 175.8 feet, down from the 177-foot level that's considered full. This is its lowest level since it dipped below 177 feet in early April.
DEQ’s current drought map shows central Virginia, from the Richmond region to Albemarle County, in an emergency condition with respect to rainfall, on drought warning status for groundwater, on a watch status for river and stream flows and with reservoirs in normal condition.
But a stretch of counties from Mecklenburg to Roanoke is in a drought emergency status on all four measures. Groundwater levels are in emergency drought conditions on the Virginia Peninsula, the Middle Peninsula, the Northern Neck and the Eastern Shore — all areas where many residents get their water from wells.
The National Drought Mitigation Center’s U.S. Drought Monitor, meanwhile, says a band of counties along the North Carolina state line, from Greensville west to Grayson, are in extreme drought conditions, as is an area stretching from Goochland, Powhatan and western Hanover counties west to the Blue Ridge in Nelson County and north to Culpeper County.
“While the rainfall has certainly been helpful, drought conditions are rather slow to end, particularly in summer,” said Andrew Ellis, a Virginia Tech professor of geography who focuses on climate and weather.
“Drought is an unusual hazard in that it evolves rather slowly … but this also means that it is typically slow to end. This is especially the case in summer," he said.
Summer rain is often spotty and intense because it forms as warm, moist air rises fast and cools quickly. When it lands, rain tends to flow rapidly into drains and streams rather than seeping into the soil. Summer temperatures mean pools of water evaporate more quickly, as well.
“So, the short answer is that we are far from out of the woods on drought, and I suspect that conservation measures will remain in place for the time being,” Ellis said.
There are signs that wetter weather patterns will continue for the next 10-14 days, “which again, would help, but likely not end the drought,” he said.
“Strong droughts, like the current situation, often only end in late summer if tropical storm remnants affect the region, or some less dramatic but unique atmospheric pattern unfolds,” he said.
What starts and ends droughts is rain, sleet and snow.
The U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center standard says that when precipitation is less than the driest 20 years, that’s a severe drought.
Richmond, along with Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico and Powhatan counties, implemented voluntary water conservation measures on July 1, following the James River Regional Flow Management Plan, which calls for voluntary conservation when average water flows drop to 1,700 cubic feet per second for 14 days in a row.
In Richmond, Chesterfield, and those parts of Hanover served by the public water system, that means following a lawn watering schedule that calls for no watering on Mondays, while odd-numbered street addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and even-numbered street addresses on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Water utilities are also asking people to limit washing paved areas to two days a week.
Henrico is not asking residents to follow a watering schedule at this time, but is asking residents to conserve, for instance, by shortening showers, running only full loads of dishes and laundry, and disabling automatic sprinklers for lawn watering.
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