It is important to remember this drought isn't just a one season or one year phenomenon...through out most of our region this drought has been building over the past three years. Precipitation deficits have been building over this time span. In many areas, rainfalls have often come "just in the knick of time" to rescue crops in the past couple of years, giving us a false sense of security. However the truth is that there still has been a cumulative deficit over this time that is now sizable.
By almost all measures the east coast is facing a very serious situation. Even as I write this, some states have instituted mandatory water usage restrictions and just about all have voluntary restrictions in place. There are many accounts of springs and wells drying up being bandied about. Well drillers report back logs that stretch into mid and late summer months. Streams and rivers are flowing at a mere fraction of their normal flow. Many municipal reservoirs are at all time lows for this time of year.
So what does this portend? Keep in mind this is precisely the time of year when stream flows, reservoirs and ground water supplies are usually at their annual peaks. Normally moisture reserves build through the winter and peak as the snow pack melts and before the evapo-transpiration draw kicks in. This is the combination of evaporation directly from exposed surface moisture sources combined with the draw of moisture through growing, working plant tissues. Of course the increasing temperatures of spring increase evaporation. Combine this with the leaf out and active growth of plant cover that literally pumps water from the soil into the atmosphere and moisture surpluses soon melt away and become deficits.
We are now approaching that critical juncture without the benefit of having soil and deep moisture surpluses to draw on. Unless our recent climate pattern changes and significant repeat rain falls return we are facing a a summer of dry hard choices. Choices on who will have priority access to what water is available. Will it be urban and suburban homes for critical needs such as bathing and drinking? Will it be the farm regions where crops face ruin without water? Will it be manufacturing concerns dependent upon water for economic survival? Will it be fish and wildlife whose very existence may be threatened if they lose out in this coming scramble for the resource? Who would you deny? Who would you favor? Not easy choices to make.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Wesley Ford's Plants & Trees topic, please visit the Discussions page.