Many residents of the state have seen very little in the way of rainfall over the past month or more. Thanks to the lack of rainfall, parts of Central New Jersey were placed into the “Moderate Drought” category on the US Drought Monitor as of the July 28th update. The Moderate Drought includes parts of Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex, Union, Essex and Hudson counties. This area accounts for 12% of the state. Other areas of the state remain “Abnormally Dry,” accounting for nearly 57% of New Jersey.
According to the US Drought Monitor Classification Scheme, these are the historically observed impacts of a Moderate Drought in New Jersey:
- Irrigation use increases; hay and grain yields are lower than normal
- Honey production declines
- Wildfires and ground fires increase
- Trees, landscaping and fish are stressed
- Voluntary water conservation is requested
- Reservoir and lake levels are below normal capacity
On Tuesday, the NJDEP announced that the Murphy Administration is asking residents and businesses to conserve water due to the lack of rain and dry conditions. However, according to the news release, “current water demands are being met and New Jersey’s water systems are capable of handling periods of low precipitation,” and reservoir levels and groundwater levels are near normal.
