Late last week, the state declared a Level 1 Mild Drought for our region and a Level 2 Significant Drought for a majority of the state. Fall droughts have become increasingly common, but last year’s conditions quickly worsened from Level 1 in mid-October to Level 2 just a few weeks later, and that drought persisted through the spring. While we had a break over the summer, our region has experienced some level of drought for 9 of the last 12 months. This latest declaration is a reminder that every drop of water we save helps protect our rivers, streams, and drinking water supplies as we head into the fall and winter months. While we can’t control the weather, we can all make a difference by talking to our legislators, documenting drought and using the state’s water conservation toolkit to educate and save water.
What Can You Do?
Join us at the State House on October 8 for Lobby for the Rivers Day. We need more voices from the South Shore to share our concerns with legislators, including the need for a consistent, data-driven approach to drought management across the state. No prior experience is needed and NSRWA and MassRivers Alliance will provide online training sessions to help you prepare.
Help with Drought Monitoring. Take photos to document local impacts of drought on our streams, rivers, lakes and ponds. Send photos to becky@nsrwa.org with the date, time and location of the photo (as specific as you can – GPS coordinates preferred), name of waterway if you know it, and who took the photo.
Conserve water wherever you can. Check out the state’s Water Conservation Toolkit for loads of resources and new ideas for saving water during a drought and throughout the year.
What Does Drought Mean in MA?
Why Does Drought Get Declared Even When We Get Rain?
