New York has just declared its first drought warning in 22 years
On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams declared a drought warning across New York City and 10 other New York counties, the first time the alert has been applied in 22 years.
Before Monday, New York was under a drought watch, which simply meant that the possibility of a drought was there but not fully actualized. Now that we’ve moved up a level, here’s what to expect.
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What is a drought warning?
A drought warning is the second of four levels of state drought advisories, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
In the case of a drought warning, public water suppliers implement local drought contingency plans and prepare in case there’s an actual drought emergency declaration. At this level, there are typically no water conservation mandates yet. Mayor Eric Adams suggested that residents do their part in curtailing their water use for the time being.
“Our city vehicles may look a bit dirtier and our subways may look a bit dustier, but it’s what we have to do to delay or stave off a more serious drought emergency,” Adams said, referring to the need to refrain from washing our cars (or the subway), in an official statement. “We need New Yorkers to continue to save water too, so we can water our parks and fill our pools this coming summer.”
The next level up would be a drought emergency, which comes with mandatory water restrictions. The last time New York was under a drought emergency was in 2002, when the city experienced drought-like conditions for 14 months.
Why has a drought warning been issued for New York?
Since September 30, we had just one day of precipitation, on October 30, which brought a meager .01 inches of rain to the city. As a result, the city’s reservoirs, which are usually 79 percent full during this time of year, are down to approximately 60 percent of their capacity, according to the New York Times.
There are many reasons for the drought, including this year’s unseasonably warm weather, according to Governor Kathy Hochul. If you’ve been watching the news, you have probably also read about the brush fires breaking out across city parks, from Prospect Park to Inwood Hill Park, as a result of dry conditions.
There is some good news, though: we’re expecting rain to be falling on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Although it’s too soon to tell whether it will be enough to end the drought warning, it will be the most water we’ve seen in nearly two months. That wave of rain is also likely to bring on colder weather, ending—at least for now—the uncharacteristically warm fall we’ve been experiencing so far.
Here’s to hoping that the worst of the drought is behind us.