Drought continues threatening crops and now water supplies

[July 23, 2012]  This week's weather forecast does not bode well for already drought-impacted areas of central Illinois and southward. It would appear that it will be more of the same -- hot and not much, if any, rain this week. Today, Tuesday and Wednesday are forecast for more of the over 100-degree temperatures that have baked the area all summer long.

With the warm, dry winter that led into an early, warm, dry spring and high summer temperatures with little rainfall, conditions have resulted in severe to extreme drought conditions over most of the continental U.S. Primarily, only a few scattered coastal areas have received adequate rainfall amounts. (See U.S. map.)

The National Weather Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, state climatologists and the National Drought Mitigation Center collaborate in a weekly drought report. According to assessments of data, nearly all of Illinois is now in extreme drought conditions -- meaning major crop and pasture losses, extreme fire danger, and widespread water shortages or restrictions. (Illinois map)

A look at the National Weather Service precipitation map shows that in the past 90 days, only .01 inch of rain fell over most of the surrounding area of central Illinois, with an isolated area of 1.0 to 4.0 inches over a patch of Logan County.

Creeks in the area continue to drop. As of today (July 23), Salt Creek near Greenview is at 0.65 feet, its second-lowest depth in 30 years.

Salt Creek low water records:

• 0.50 feet on Oct. 5, 1983

• 1.20 feet on Aug. 12, 1997

Salt Creek reaches flood stage at 16.0 feet

While there are no low records for Kickapoo Creek, it also is notably low, with 2 feet reported at Waynesville.

Pictured here is Sugar Creek that runs north of Lincoln.

Crops and water supplies are now being threatened across the country. Locally, well levels continue to drop, with some shallower private wells in the area now reported as going dry. Many area communities have begun restricted water use. Locally these include Mount Pulaski and Atlanta. Atlanta is on wells, with plans to drill a deeper well in the future.

The city of Lincoln gets its water through the American Water Corp. Representative Karen Cotton said, "There is no issue with demand" for Lincoln. While the water supply is not threatened right now, they do recommend following water restrictions and using wise watering practices at this time. See recommendations on "Wise Water Use" from American Water:
http://www.amwater.com/learning-center/
wise-water-use.html.

Lincoln's water source is the Mahomet Teays Aquifer.

[LDN]

Description of drought factors:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/csd/graphics/
content/outreach/brochures/DroughtPublic2.pdf

For more information on the 2012 drought:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx/?n=drought 

For further reading about the Mahomet Teays Aquifer, see:
"The Sankoty-Mahomet Aquifer: A reassessment study"  and
"Hydrochemistry of the Mahomet Bedrock Valley Aquifer"