Drought continues threatening crops and now water supplies
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[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.
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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.
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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
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