Drought continues to expand across North Carolina

The U.S. Drought Monitor now shows that 73.6 percent of North Carolina is in severe or extreme drought.

August 19, 2007

WILSON COUNTY NC NEWS -- The U.S. Drought Monitor now shows that 73.6 percent of North Carolina is in severe or extreme drought. Severe drought, now covers almost all of the Piedmont and stretches into the coastal plain just east of Interstate 95. Moreover, extreme drought now covers the majority of the mountain counties. What is more, in North Carolina, 94 counties are experiencing some form of drought. Only six counties in far eastern North Carolina remain out of drought classification although they are in the abnormally dry category:

• Carteret County
• Dare County
• Hyde County
• Pamlico County
• Tyrrell County
• Washington.County

In the Southeast, Alabama is reported to be experiencing worst drought conditions with 73.1 percent of the state experiencing exceptional drought conditions. Alabama's exceptional drought conditions spread 21.3 percent in one week.

Meanwhile, Governor Mike Easley has expanded his directive to state agencies in 74 counties to stop nonessential water use, and is continuing to call on citizens to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by at least 10 percent.

Governor Easley said, "Nearly half the state's population is under some type of water use restriction, and I thank our local officials for taking those actions. With no significant rainfall in the past few months and none expected soon, the drought is likely to continue having a drastic impact on lake levels and stream flows, which supply our communities with most of the water we need for drinking, cooking and cleaning."

Voluntary water usage restrictions have been enacted for 36 public systems and mandatory restrictions are now in place for an additional 16 systems due to the drought. Moreover, the public water systems that have enacted water restrictions serve 2.9 million people, or 48 percent of North Carolina's population.

Furthermore, Governor Easley is continuing to urge citizens to use basic water conservation measures. basic water conservation tips include:

• Only using the dishwasher with full loads, and using the "water-saver" setting, if available.
• Taking short showers of 5 minutes or less. If bathing, fill the tub only one-quarter full.
• Find out how much water your lawn really needs. More than 50 percent of the water applied to lawns and gardens is lost due to evaporation or runoff because of over watering. As a general rule, most lawns and gardens require little more than one inch of water per week.

On average, North Carolina communities have received between 50 and 75 percent of the normal rainfall for this time of year. North Carolina counties all together have reported 30 incidents of drought impacts. In August, dry conditions have kept firefighters busy with 351 wildfires, more than double the average number of wildfires for this month in North Carolina. The lack of rain in recent months has dried out vegetation so much that an escaped ember from a controlled fire such as a campfire can easily spark a dangerous wildfire. For that reason, the governor said Thursday that people should be especially careful if they burn yard vegetation, grill food or build campfires. Someone should stay with all fires until they are completely extinguished and follow all state and local laws if burning sticks, leaves or other yard vegetation.

It has been five years, since North Carolina has experienced drought conditions prevailing across the state. Between 1998 and 2002, widespread record-low stream-flow and groundwater levels prevailed in many areas. During this 4-year period, the drought was continuous in areas of western North Carolina, although eastern areas of the State had some periods of relief from tropical storms in 1998 and 1999. The occurrence of dry winters in 2001 and 2002 along with a dry spring in 2002, exacerbated drought conditions across North Carolina resulting in substantial declines in stream flow and groundwater levels until the fall of 2002.