2008 Drought

Recent rainfall has brought some drought relief to North Carolina. While D4 (exceptional drought) has been removed, all counties still experience some degree of drought stress.

The Spring outlook offers little guidance. Indicators suggest little confidence in being able to determine precipitation through June. EC, on the map below, means equal chance. Less guidance is available for the summer months. The SCO continues to devote much of our attention to drought monitoring and public education of drought and water issues as we face the likelihood of water restrictions continuing through the summer.

Rain Barrels
Written by Undergraduate Assistant, Diana Thomas

With 2007 being the driest year North Carolina has seen on record in 118 years, possibilities are being presented to alleviate the issue of consumer usage. A couple of possibilities are the use of rain barrels for rainwater catchment from residential rooftops and personal wells. Some counties are already contemplating restrictions on the number of wells being dug to prevent depletion of the groundwater supply. However, if every resident of Wake County were to participate in rainwater catchment, how much precipitation would not reach the groundwater supply?

For a 1000 square foot house, every inch that falls is 600 gallons of water that can be harvested to use for lawn irrigation, car washing or any other recreational activity. Water from this method of catchment is not treated and therefore cannot be used for drinking or cooking.

Let’s take a look at the numbers. The area of Wake County is 548,672 acres which is equivalent to 857 square miles. According to the US Census conducted in 2006, there are 325,613 housing units located in Wake County. With various calculations, it can be concluded that if all of the housing units in Wake County were to operate their rainwater catchment systems at 100% efficiency, 23% of the annual precipitation will be harvested from the rooftops. Considering only the areas in the Falls of the Neuse Reservoir, 20% of the annual rainfall can be harvested, which is a considerable amount not reaching the groundwater supply. However, most rainwater catchment systems only operate between 70% and 90% efficiency. This also assumes that the system is able to harvest ALL of the precipitation.

Rain barrels can usually hold 60-80 gallons and are usually about 38” tall. They can also be found in various shapes and sizes that can be disguised as seen above with flowers and paint.

Learn more about how to make your own rain barrel from the NC Cooperative Extension Service: http://craven.ces.ncsu.edu/content/HowtomakeaRainBarrel

Spring Weather Outlook

Moderate La Niña conditions continue. La Niña (cool phase) events are typically associated with drier winters in NC. During La Niña winters, the Jet Stream is less amplified, and doesn't tend to bring as many storms to NC. La Niña conditions are expected to weaken through May.