The Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group on Thursday issued a drought watch for the Catawba-Wateree River Basin of North and South Carolina, blaming this summer’s hot, dry weather for declining reservoir levels and stream flows.
Technically, the Catawba-Wateree River Basin is in Stage 0 of the Low Inflow Protocol (LIP). At Stage 0, the advisory group alerts members to monitor conditions more closely and prepare for possible coordinated actions in case conditions worsen.
No specific actions are recommended right now for residents, but the group is encouraging wise water use and voluntary water conservation.
Year-to-date rainfall through July is about 91.5 percent of the region’s long-term average. Most of that rain fell earlier in the year. The National Weather Service is predicting average precipitation for August, with an equal chance of above or below normal rainfall for September and October.
The below-normal rainfall has dropped two of three drought indicators to Stage 0: Water storage in the Basin’s reservoirs has declined and stream flows that feed the reservoirs are below normal. Although not yet at Stage 0, the U.S. Drought Monitor trigger is indicating some parts of the Basin are “abnormally dry.”
“Reservoir storage and inflow conditions across the Basin are slightly below normal and showing some signs of stress,” Ed Bruce, Duke Energy’s coordinator for the advisory group, said in a press release. “Whether the basin sees additional impacts or improves to normal conditions as we move into fall is dependent upon future rainfall patterns.”
Current conditions do not match those of late summer and fall 2007 when the basin rapidly descended into a severe drought – the worst ever recorded in the region. The basin is still able to support planned recreational water releases into area rivers and streams.
“The CW-DMAG is committed to taking what we learned from the 2007 drought and applying it to today’s conditions to mitigate the impacts adverse weather conditions could have on residents and businesses of the Basin,” Kevin Greer, City of Hickory Assistant Public Services Director – Public Utilities, said in the press release Thursday.
RELATED LINKS
See the U.S. Drought Monitor Map for the Southeast, with clickable links to state maps of conditions, CLICK HERE>
