Drought

Residents and businesses in Gaithersburg and Rockville were urged to voluntarily conserve water because the area was part of the regional drought watch issued by the Drought Coordination Committee of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The MoCo Show (Rockville, Md.), Aug 2, 2024

Some trees in the Lexington area were already turning from green to yellow. LEX 18 (Lexington, Ky.), Aug 2, 2024

A Fayetteville golf course uses water from its ponds to irrigate the greens. Pond levels were dropping, but none were dry yet. Rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby may bring pond levels up a few inches. WOAY-TV (Oak Hill, W.V.), Aug 6, 2024

The McLennan County Commissioners Court on Aug. 6 approved a 90-day burn ban for unincorporated parts of the county. The ban may end early if warranted. Local landowners and citizens were concerned about the dry conditions and asked the court to be proactive to prevent brush fires. KWTX TV 10 (Waco, Texas), Aug 6, 2024

The City of Clyde entered a stage three water emergency on August 1 because the level of Clyde Lake continued to fall. The city manager said that the lake held enough water for about one year. Given some of the residents’ time and money invested in their yards, they were frustrated with the stage 3 response, which allows lawn watering once every two weeks. KTXS-TV 12 Abilene (Texas), Aug 2, 2024

Arkansas City commissioners approved a stage one water watch and encouraged the public to voluntarily conserve water. The reasons for the water watch were the time of year, the lack of rain, and the high water demand for lawn watering. Cowley Courier Traveler (Winfield, Kan.), Aug 7, 2024

The Portsmouth and Pease municipal water systems continue to experience high demand due to irrigation and cooling system usage. In the last month, the combined water systems have averaged 5.4 million gallons a day. City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Aug 5, 2024

Lawn care companies in Wichita have been receiving telephone calls from homeowners seeking help with resetting the timers for their sprinkler systems. They have also been asked to inspect irrigation systems to make sure that there were no leaks. KSN-TV (Wichita, Kan.), Aug 5, 2024

Corn conditions vary greatly in Lawrence County with some of it being totally devastated, while a few miles away, the corn looks fine. Some farmers have opted to make silage out of the corn for livestock feed. Soybeans have also suffered from the lack of rain. Some plants were waist-high, while some didn’t even reach up to one’s knees. SF | Successful Farming (Des Moines, Iowa), Aug 5, 2024

Crops in southwest Pennsylvania were parched from the lack of rain. The hay has not grown back, and feed production this year may be just half of the usual 40,000 bushels, which would be enough for the farm’s dairy cattle, but not enough to sell as they usually do. Hay was last cut in May. A livestock producer in Brothersvalley Township with about 1,400 head said that he would likely have to buy more feed for 2025. New Castle News (Pa.), Aug 5, 2024

Wells were going dry in the Wichita area, and more people were contacting well drillers, asking them to drill deeper to reach water. The drought was making it more difficult to drill due to cracks in the ground that may extend down 20 to 30 feet. The ground was also very hard, making it harder to begin drilling. KWCH 12 (Wichita, Kan.), Aug 5, 2024

A fruit grower in Washington County lost several major crops due to the drought. The loss of blueberries and black raspberries has been quite severe. The peaches were smaller than usual. The heavy use of the irrigation system has driven up the electric bill. The farmer estimated that drought has cost him about $6,000 overall. Athens County Independent (Ohio), Aug 1, 2024

A farmer estimated that he has spent between $750 and $1,500 to care for the 60 cattle and hogs. The livestock have consumed more water than usual. Pasture grasses have been slow to grow back. Athens County Independent (Ohio), Aug 1, 2024

A tanker truck filled with service water has been sent to the town of Thomas in Tucker County because the town’s water supply has been unusable for the past month due to high iron levels. WDTV-TV CBS 5 (Bridgeport, W.V.), Aug 2, 2024

Hay has not regrown enough to make a second cutting in Bowman County due to the lack of moisture. A farmer expects that his corn yield will be down 20% to 30%. KFYR Your News Leader (Bismarck, N.D.), Aug 2, 2024

An 18-mile section of the Big Hole River was fully closed to fishing due to low flows below 100 cubic feet per second. The affected stretch of the river was from the Tony Schoonen Fishing Access Site, known as Notch Bottom, to the confluence with the Jefferson River. The rest of the Big Hole upstream of Tony Schoonen Fishing Access Site was still under hoot-owl restrictions, prohibiting fishing each day between 2 p.m. and midnight. KXLF-TV 4 (Butte, Mont.), Aug 2, 2024

Drought cut into the corn yield in Pickaway County, according to a farmer, who thought that instead of 200 bushels per acre, that he might at best have 100 bpa or less. WSYX-TV (Columbus, Ohio), Aug 1, 2024

At least 75 sockeye salmon died in warm water with insufficient oxygen in the Yakima Delta. The fish were discovered by U.S. Geological Survey staff on July 12. The fish likely died while waiting to swim up the Yakima River to spawn, according to a Yakama Nation Fisheries manager, who opined that it was likely that many more sockeye died. Yakima Herald-Republic (Wash.), Aug 1, 2024

Some farmers in Fayette County were very low on water and were no longer able to water all of their crops. Some livestock producers were feeding their winter hay stock to the cattle, sheep and pigs because pastures were grazed down. Herald-Standard (Uniontown, Pa.), Aug 1, 2024

Farmers in Deemston Borough watched their crops suffer from the lack of rain. The potatoes turned out badly. They only got one cutting of hay and do not expect a second. Soybeans on a Scenery Hill farm were just four to six inches tall, although they ought to be knee-high. Herald-Standard (Uniontown, Pa.), Aug 1, 2024