Severe drought conditions in NJ may force emergency response as wildfires burn and reservoirs deplete

New Jersey’s worsening drought conditions With conditions continuing to deteriorate rapidly and wildfires breaking out almost daily, the situation is so dire that the state may have to declare a drought warning as early as next week or a rare drought emergency in the coming weeks, officials said.

The hazardous conditions have put enormous pressure on crops, firefighters, private wells and reservoirs that provide drinking water to millions of people. But the biggest danger came from wildfires as firefighters battled hundreds of blazes fueled by dry brush and high winds over the past few weeks.

As of Friday afternoon, at least ten wildfires were burning in eight different counties in the state, from as far north as Bergen and Essex to as far south as Camden and Cumberland. One of the last fires Friday afternoon was near the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Englewood Cliffs.

Drought continues to negatively affect water resources. Some of the largest reservoirs in the Garden State are at their lowest capacity in more than 20 years, and other reservoirs are at their lowest levels in history, officials said.

The culprit in all this is the persistent atmospheric pattern that creates an unusually long string of rain-free weeks. Essentially, a permanent high pressure dome has been hovering over the region where our country is located for about two months and does not show any signs of movement.

“This produced clear skies and dry air,” said New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson. “It also prevented any low pressure systems with rain from advancing into the region.”

Although some rain is expected for the end of Sunday and Monday, National Weather Service He says he expects only a quarter inch to half an inch; This would be welcome but would not be enough to solve the state’s serious drought problems.

Most parts of New Jersey have had no significant rainfall since August and no rain since late September. The lack of rain has plunged much of New Jersey into a severe drought and plunged three counties in the state’s Pinelands region into an “extreme drought” that is more serious than a severe drought and is rare in our state.

Reservoirs are falling

As of late this week, many of the state’s reservoirs that provide water to millions of homes and businesses appeared to have dropped capacity to below-normal levels in early November. Some of the largest reservoirs, including the Manasquan Reservoir in Monmouth County, have fallen to their lowest levels in history.

Manasquan Reservoir first reached its lowest volume in mid-October, when it held 2.71 billion gallons of water, or 58% of its full capacity of 4.67 billion gallons.

With no rain on Halloween and many rivers and streams lower and flowing more slowly, Manasquan Reservoir’s capacity dropped to 53.5% with 2.5 billion gallons of water. New Jersey Water Supply Authority.

As of Friday morning, the reservoir was at 51.7% capacity with 2.41 billion gallons of water, the agency said.

Spruce Run Reservoir in Hunterdon County was down to 32.5% of its full capacity as of Friday morning, with 3.57 billion gallons of water available.

But the Round Valley Reservoir, part of the same water network as Spruce Run, is in much better shape with 50 billion gallons of water, 91% of its capacity, the agency said.

In North Jersey, Wanaque Reservoir, one of the largest reservoirs in the state, was holding 13.54 billion gallons of water as of Friday, according to data from the District of North Jersey; That’s only 46% of its full capacity of 29.63 billion gallons. Water Supply Commission.

Nearby Monksville Reservoir was in good shape Friday, holding 6.75 billion gallons of water, 96% of its full capacity.

Tim Eustace, general manager of the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, said the Wanaque Reservoir is currently at its lowest level in more than 20 years.

“It was lower in previous droughts,” he said.

Eustace noted that the combined capacity of the Wanaque and Monksville reservoirs dropped to 25% of their capacity during the severe drought in 1999 and to 37% of their capacity during the drought that began in the fall of 2016.

While current reservoir levels aren’t that bad, Eustace believes the state’s current drought situation is severe enough to require everyone to reduce their home water use.

“People definitely need to save water. “That’s common sense,” Eustace said. “We haven’t had any rain in October.” Also, it did not rain for the first eight days of November.

Drought warning may be issued

Three weeks ago, New Jersey’s worsening drought situation prompted Governor Phil Murphy’s office to take action. declare drought watchWe’re asking residents and businesses across the state to voluntarily conserve water.

If drought conditions persist, the drought watch may be upgraded to a more urgent drought warning, state officials said. Such a move would give the Department of Environmental Protection greater authority to ensure that water providers distribute and transfer adequate amounts of water to every region of the state.

If the drought worsens and water supplies deteriorate further, the state could declare a rarer drought emergency. The emergency declaration will allow the state to impose mandatory water use restrictions for homeowners and businesses to help relieve pressure on water supplies.

Some action may be taken in the next few days as the state DEP will hold a public hearing on the drought situation and water storage situation Tuesday morning.

The hearing will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams starting at 11am. Anyone interested in attending is asked to email DEP at [email protected] for their meeting credentials, including their name, phone number and contact.

The agency said people can submit written comments on the drought issue on or before Tuesday via email to [email protected] or to Brandon Carreno, NJDEP Water Supply Division, ZIP Code 401-04Q Hearing Officer. , PO Box 420, Trenton, NJ 08625.

forest fires

In late October, the state released a statement. Stage 3 fire banThe highest level of restrictions prohibiting open fires in any part of New Jersey.

But extremely dry weather, combined with dried bush and high winds, has triggered hundreds of wildfires over the past few weeks.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said it responded to more than 500 fires in October, and persistently dry weather and windy conditions have led to several large fires this week.

Another wildfire broke out in Passaic County early Saturday morning, threatening 55 structures in Pompton Lakes.

named Cannonbll 3 WildfireForest fire officials said the fire had grown to 75 acres and was not under control as of 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

Officials said that the fire became difficult to control due to strong winds, but no evacuations were reported. Officials said local fire departments responded to areas where homes and buildings were at risk.

A fire broke out Friday near the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Englewood Cliffs, burning at least 39 acres. About 30 percent of the fire was under control as of Friday afternoon, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

Residents across the state may smell smoke that could last several days or longer if more fires break out, the agency said.

Among the largest fires were: big forest fire A massive brush fire that burned more than 300 acres in Ocean County is at least 75 acres in Burlington County.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported that the Shotgun Fire in Jackson Township had grown to 350 acres Friday night but was 90 percent contained.

Wildfires were also raging in Camden, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester and Morris counties.

Current weather radar