Drought heading for Wayne and neighbors

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA — Wayne County is 1.1 feet away from the declaration of a drought.

That’s all the current water table level has to fall until the state declares a drought in the county.

“Thirty feet down is the trigger point where a drought is declared,” said Glen Gunusky of the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency. “Right now at our Dyberry well, the water table is at 28.9 feet and dropping.”

Gunusky, who made a presentation to the county commissioners on July 21, said what is needed is a steady rain for 24 hours in order to replenish the water table.

“If we don’t get it within the next few weeks, the state will have to declare a drought, with all the regulations for conserving water,” Gunusky said.

All the counties in northeastern Pennsylvania are experiencing this trend, he said.

What people should do now is to start conserving water by fixing leaky faucets, stopping running toilets, etc.

“There are three things that eat up water,” Gunusky said. “Water evaporating after a hot summer rain, water run-off during a heavy storm and the tendency for trees and shrubs to eat up the rain during a brief storm, before water can reach down to the water table.”

No rain and no conservation will mean a drought declaration, he said.

Not so in Pike

Pike County has had no indication that a drought might be emerging, according to Roger Maltby, the Pike County emergency management coordinator.

“We haven’t had much rain since the April storm and the rate has been below normal, but we aren’t seeing a significant drop in the water table,” Maltby said.

Delaware River Basin Commission

Delaware River Basin Commission spokesman Clarke Rupert gave a wider picture of the condition of the water table and the recent rates of rainfall in the entire Delaware River Basin.

“In the last 30 days, the upper reaches of the Delaware River, which would include Wayne, Pike, Delaware and Sullivan Counties, have had less rain than the southern portion and a greater loss to the water table than the southern portion,” Rupert said. “However, over the last year, this area has received more than normal precipitation.”

Last year, Wayne County received 57.4 inches of rain, which is 14.9 inches above normal.

Of the eight regional observation wells maintained by the United States Geologic Survey, four in the southern part of the basin had precipitation at or above normal levels, four in the middle were within normal levels, but the three in the north were well below average, he said.

Rupert recognized that in the summer those average rates will drop in certain areas that do not get enough rain, something that Wayne and its neighbors are currently experiencing.