On November 6, Delaware River Basin Commission Executive Director Steve Tambini announced a special hearing to be held on November 19 at 1:30 p.m. for the Commission to accept public input on the persistent dry conditions throughout the Delaware River Basin and how to address them.

The purpose of the hearing, which will be held virtually, is to seek input from interested parties as the Commission considers declaring a “water supply emergency” if conditions worsen.

A special DRBC business meeting on the issue will be set on or after November 21.

“Many areas in the Delaware River Basin continue to experience significantly below-normal precipitation with resulting effects on streamflows, groundwater levels and reservoir storage,” said Tambini. “These conditions have already prompted the states of New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania to declare drought watches or warnings in most or all of the counties that lie within the Basin.”

Beginning in October, low flows in the Delaware River prompted the DRBC to direct releases of stored water from a federal reservoir, Beltzville (Carbon County., Pa.) to meet the minimum flow objective for the river at Trenton, N.J. “As of 8 a.m. today, approximately 1.12 billion gallons (BG) of water has been released from Beltzville Reservoir to meet the Trenton Flow Objective,” said Amy Shallcross, DRBC’s Water Resource Operations Manager. An additional source of water in the lower basin that is available for use to meet the Trenton Flow Objective is Blue Marsh Reservoir (Berks Co., Pa.).

Salt Front

The purpose of the Trenton Flow Objective is to control the “salt front” in the tidal Delaware River.

Freshwater is needed to keep salty or brackish water from advancing up the Delaware Bay during low-flow conditions and reaching drinking water intakes for Philadelphia and New Jersey communities, and industrial intakes along the river.

“The salt front is currently 17 river miles upstream from its normal location for this time of year despite the reservoir releases,” said Shallcross. “If more water is needed to address salt front management, we expect continued decreases in reservoir storage and additional drought risks.”

Unless precipitation trends change in the near term, initial drought management actions are reductions in flow objectives for the main stem Delaware River and out-of-basin diversions to conserve reservoir storage.

In a drought emergency, the drought plan gives the DRBC the authority to call for releases from additional reservoirs to increase river flow.

The Basinwide drought management plan is based on the amount of combined storage in the three New York City reservoirs, the largest in the Delaware River Basin.

As of 8:00 a.m. November 6, the combined storage in NYC’s Delaware River Basin reservoirs is currently 38 billion gallons above the level that initiates a drought watch.

The low storage is in part due to NYC’s Delaware Aqueduct Repair Project. NYC is not currently diverting water from the Delaware River Basin reservoirs while the repair is being made.

The public is encouraged to visit the NYC Department of Environmental Protection website for updates on the Delaware Aqueduct repair project.

Curb Water Use

The DRBC is also urging all water users to voluntarily curb water use in Basin communities where drought watches and warnings have been issued, maximize water efficiency and cooperate with all state-issued alerts.

“Over 14 million people rely on our shared waters, and while we may believe this resource is limitless the fact is that we never know when the next long-term drought might begin. Collectively we can work toward improving water efficiency every day, not only when we experience dry conditions,” added Tambini.

Visit DRBC’s Special Public Hearing webpage for more information.  The hearing will be available online.

Visit DRBC’s Drought Information webpage for information on regional drought conditions and actions.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Delaware River Basin Commission website.  Click Here to sign up for regulator updates.  Follow DRBC on Twitter.  Visit them on YouTube.

Resource Link:

-- Pennsylvania Declares Drought Conditions In 35 Counties -- Berks, Schuylkill Counties In Drought Warning, 33 In Drought Watch  [PaEN]

Related Articles - Drought:

-- Delaware River Basin Commission Calls For Efficient Water Use; Sets Nov. 19 Hearing On Declaring A Water Supply Emergency  [PaEN]

-- 66 Water Withdrawals Now Restricted In Susquehanna River Basin Due To Low-Flow Water Conditions, Most Shale Gas-related  [PaEN] 

-- DCNR Prohibits Campfires On State Park, Forest Lands Amid Ongoing Dry Conditions

NewsClips:

-- WHYY: Salty Water Creeps Toward Philly Drinking Water Intake As Dry Conditions Persist

-- WNEP: Drinking Water Wells Drying Up  Amid Moderate Drought Conditions In Poconos

-- PA American Water Issues Mandatory Water Conservation Notice For Customers In Glenn Alsace Service Area In Berks County

-- PA American Water Asks Customers To Reduce Nonessential Water Use Due To Drought Watch Declaration

-- WPXI: PA American Water Asking Customers To Reduce Water Use In Response To Drought Concerns

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill County Municipal Authority Asks Customers To Reduce Water Use Until Further Notice

-- WESA: Facing Drought, DCNR Bans Campfires In State Parks, Forests

-- WTAE: Dry Conditions Cause Counties To Issue Burn Bans: Crawford, Erie, Fayette, Lawrence, Fulton

-- Warren Times: Warren County Commissioners Enact Burn Ban

-- WJAC: Over A Dozen Fire Departments Battling Large Wildfire Near Canoe Creek State Park In Blair County

-- MCall: Blue Mountain Wildfire Burns Nearly 600 Acres In Northampton County

-- MCall: Wildfire On Blue Mountain Spreads To 150 Acres As Crews Work To Contain It

-- MCall: Blue Mountain Wildfire 100% Contained In Northampton County After Burning Nearly 600 Acres, DCNR Says

-- Williamsport Sun: Lycoming County Firefighters Join Efforts Against Lehigh Valley Wildfire

-- TribLive: East Deer Brush Fire Takes Hours To Extinguish Due To Terrain In Allegheny County

-- Reading Eagle: Wildfire Erupts On Neversink Mountain In Reading

-- MCall: Crews Continuing To Fight Wildfire On Neversink Mountain In Reading

-- Republican Herald: Wildfire Burns Almost 50 Acres In Schuylkill County

-- WHYY: How To Keep Your Trees Healthy During Ongoing Drought

[Posted: November 6, 2024]

11/11/2024