Following three months of near-normal rainfall, state officials have downgraded the Islands from a significant drought to a mild one.
Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rebecca Tepper made the declaration on Friday.
Still, the state recommends monitoring of drought conditions, and officials say they will be providing technical outreach and assistance to affected towns.
“Seeing conditions improve on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket is encouraging. We need to continue practicing indoor water conservation methods to help lift the Islands region out of this drought,” Tepper is quoted in a release issued on Friday. “Hotter summers mean slower recovery for groundwater levels. Drought resiliency is a priority for the Healey-Driscoll administration, and we are working to build those resources for municipalities.”
Friday’s declaration will remain in effect until water levels return to normal conditions, the state says.
The state’s Drought Management Task Force will meet again on April 9 for an update.
The Island region is the only one in Massachusetts currently in a drought.
I have been puzzled at the drought designation for MV. At my house in WT I recorded 9.55 inches of rain in January. I was away for much of February and don’t have have a number handy. However, in the first eight days of March I have already recorded well over 3-inches of rain. Where’s the drought?
There are rain gauges and there are certified and calibrated rain gauge installations.
Not to mention local variations.
There are six indices to determine “drought.”
1-Precipitation
2-Streamflow
3-Groundwater
4-Lakes and Impoundments (body of water confined within an enclosure, such as a reservoir)
5-KBDI: an index of fire 🔥 danger or potential
6-Evapotranspiration (this data is in development)
https://nedews.nrcc.cornell.edu/ma/#
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