DEP Continues to Examine Water Supply Levels

The recent rain is helping the reservoirs in the northern part of the state rebound from a dry, hot summer, but state officials are hesitant to call it a "drought buster."

The state Department of Environmental Protection held a hearing Wednesday morning at the Millburn Public Library about a drought watch it issued for the northeast region earlier this month. Officials had been considering issuing a drought warning, which would cause water restrictions and possibly mean transferring water between storage facilities.

State officials are hesitant to say the reservoirs are rebounding with the recent rain, although they have seen some improvements in the reservoirs. Steve Doughty, of the DEP, said the recent rain is not a "drought buster" like eight days of rain in 2005 when there was a drought watch, but added that the current rain is welcome. He said the drought watch was likely to continue, including Bergen County, but said the final decision is up to the commissioner.

David Robinson, state climateologist, said the last seven days have brought rain falls above average for areas in north Jersey. Areas in north Bergen and Passaic counties have received a month's worth of rain, he said.

The rain follows several months of dry weather. In his presentation, Robinson said the 12-month period of March 2009 to March 2010 was the wettest 12-month period in recorded history for the state. But the months since them have been some of the driest. "The spigot turned off in April," he said.

Doughty said state officials were concerned with some reservoirs in Bergen County, including the system for United Water. Working with the company, water restrictions were put into place. Doughty said it helped cause a rebound from a steady decline in the water levels in the reservoirs.

Doughty said state officials are mindful of the impact any water transfer or other measures put into place so they do not harm any one water company.

July and August are typically some of the wettest months for New Jersey, but the summer has been the sixth driest on record, Robinson said. Also, temperatures have been two degrees above previous record temperatures.

But he couldn't predict the future of rainfall for New Jersey for the fall and winter. The National Weather Service is predicting equal chances for precipitation, he said.

State officials watch a number of indicators in measuring if there is a drought condition including weather and precipitation levels, stream flow, shallow ground water levels and reservoir storage levels. Doughty said there are no automatic triggers to declare a drought watch, warning or emergency.

The northeast region includes communities in Essex, Bergen, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties.