New York State issues warning for wildfires as drought conditions persist in the city and 10 other counties.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently announced that the city’s drought watch has been escalated to a drought warning, indicating that a drought emergency may soon be declared. This warning also applies to 10 additional counties in New York State, including parts of the Hudson Valley. Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a drought watch for the rest of the state due to abnormally dry conditions.
While no mandatory water restrictions are currently in place under the drought warning, officials are urging residents to conserve water voluntarily. Water suppliers are focusing on contingency plans to manage the situation. The city’s reservoirs, typically at around 79 percent capacity at this time of year, are now only at about 60 percent capacity. The forecasted inch of rain in the upcoming days is not expected to be sufficient to replenish the reservoirs. Since October 1, New York City has received less than a quarter-inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
One of the contingency plans involves pausing the repair project on the Delaware Aqueduct. This $2 billion, eight-month initiative has been in the works for decades and required the shutdown of a critical tunnel responsible for transporting about half of the city’s water supply. With repairs commencing in early October, access to four major reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains has been disrupted. Mayor Adams intends to halt the construction project temporarily and reopen the aqueduct to allow water from these reservoirs to flow back into New York City.
Rohit T. Aggarwala, the city’s climate chief and commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the water supply system, emphasized the severity of the situation due to the prolonged lack of rainfall in both the city and the upstate watershed where the reservoirs are situated.
Source: The NY Times
