A drought advisory has not been declared in the City of Waynesboro despite extremely dry conditions and limited rainfall in the last six weeks.
A representative from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality told AFP that the Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force will meet next week to discuss dry conditions across the Commonwealth.
“While most Shenandoah region indicators are currently in normal range, localized conditions in Waynesboro show below-normal rainfall, reduced South River flows and low soil moisture, indicating that the city is experiencing dry conditions,” said Andrew Noyes, a water supply planner at the Virginia DEQ.
The DEQ relies on regional indicators including precipitation, streamflow, groundwater and reservoir levels for its Virginia Drought Assessment and Response Plan, or VDARP.
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The city has not issued any kind of advisory related to the dry conditions.
The drought management ordinance in city code provides guidelines for voluntary and mandatory restrictions of water during water shortages or water emergencies.
Drought stages
According to the code, Waynesboro City Council has adopted the Upper Shenandoah River Basin Drought Preparedness Response Plan. Under this plan, stages include a drought watch, drought warning and drought emergency.
The following conditions must be met according to the plan to issue a drought advisory:
- Drought watch: South River near Waynesboro USGS gauge between 10th and 25th percentile
- Drought warning: South River near Waynesboro USGS gauge between 5th and 10th percentile
- Drought emergency: South River near Waynesboro at or below 5th percentile
Current conditions
Gary Critzer, director of emergency management for the City of Waynesboro, told AFP on Friday that as of now, the city is not in a drought.
Critzer said the city’s rain gauge recorded:
- September, to date: 0.08″
- August: 0.59″
- July: 4.84″
- June: 3.16″
- May: 6.55″
“Our rain gauge at the Gorsuch Building recorded its last appreciable rain in July with 4.84 inches recorded,” Critzer said.
As far as the last two months, Critzer said “that’s certainly less than we would like but as of now we aren’t considered in a drought. Our Public Works water staff has reported that our water levels in the spring box are at normal levels.”
Critzer said the weather service has Waynesboro in a D1 category or moderate drought.
“In August, for example, we were 1.68″ below normal rainfall. However, the first part of half of the year, we were 5.48″ above, which is likely what’s giving us some reserves now,” he said. “The river is running slightly below normal flow at 1.87 feet which has us in D1 or <10 percent. The ground waves showing us below as well.
“I’ll be interested to see what the task force comes back with,” Critzer said. “We certainly have to monitor it closely.”
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Crystal Graham
