For the past few months, there has been nearly no rain, resulting in drought conditions throughout New York State. Maybe you noticed that the Croton Reservoir has been looking low, or you heard about the dry spell on the news, but what exactly is going on? On Monday, November 18, 2024, New York City’s drought watch, which was announced on November 2, 2024, was aggrandized to a drought warning for the first time since 2002. As of November 21, 2024, the Catskills region and NYC, which account for fifteen counties, are under a drought warning while the rest of the state is under the observation of a drought watch. In light of this devastating news, many questions arise such as what is a drought warning? How will it affect surrounding counties? And what impact will the drought have on the people and environment of The Empire State?
There are four stages of drought response, a watch, a warning, an emergency, and a disaster. A drought watch is the first stage and means that city officials will start preparations for water conservation. During this phase people are encouraged to conserve water by taking shorter showers and running the dishwasher and washing machine only when full. The second level of drought response in the warning phase, which is where we stand as of November 21, 2024. During this phase action is taken by public agencies to ensure that water is conserved. The New York City Department of Sanitation has suspended street cleaning, The Parks Department has limited the water used in ponds unless they are inhabited by aquatic animals, the New York City Department of Transportation has suspended the washing of the outside of their vehicles, and the NYPD and NYFD have closed fire hydrants that were left open. The Delaware Aqueduct Repair Project has also been suspended until drought conditions improve. The Delaware Aqueduct is one of the longest aqueducts in the world and supplies almost half of NYC’s drinking water. The repair project would add a 2 and a half mile bypass in the aqueduct to bypass a leak. Hopefully the scheduled rain in the forecast will ease drought conditions before they reach the most extreme phase, a drought emergency. During a drought emergency the use of water will be restricted. Fields and lawns will not be watered, the sidewalks and sides of buildings will not be hosed down, and people who violate water shortage rules could face being fined. The most extreme phase is a drought disaster. During this time water usage would be further restricted and Governor Kathy Hochul would have to request federal assistance.
The impacts of the drought have been prominent throughout the tri-state area as all three states have been under a red flag warning and New York will be under a burn ban until November 30th. The combination of lack of participation and strong winds have created a breeding ground for fires to start. Westchester County alone was faced with 131 brush fires in November. In Putnam county, two men were charged with arson when they violated the state’s burn ban and started a brush fire in the town of Southeast. The Jennings Creek Fire has burned approximately 5,304 acres in Orange, Bergen, and Passaic Counties. The fire started about two weeks ago and resulted in the evaluation of 165 homes in the area. With the expected rainfall on Thursday, the fire is predicted to be 90% contained by Sunday afternoon (Goot 2024). Connecticut has been faced with deadly fires requiring the aid of the National Guard for the first time in thirty years. New Jersey has been faced by numerous fires, many of which occurred in forested areas. Two teenagers from Marlton, NJ, have been arrested for arson as they started a fire that burned about 52 acres of land.
Even the rain that occurred on Thursday November 21st, and more in forecast next week, may not be enough to relinquish the drought. New York City officials state that about six more inches of rain to replenish the reservoirs. With next week’s storm affecting Northern New York, there is hope that the extra participation could remove the red flag warning and fill the reservoirs, reducing the drought warning to a watch.
