As drought conditions worsen, there are still no signs of any significant rain in the future in New Jersey.
An emergency meeting held on Tuesday brought together state climate experts and members of the Department of Environmental Protection, as talks remain ongoing to raise the level of severity regarding the drought.
According to state climate experts, New Jersey has been running about a foot below normal when it comes to rainfall over the last three months. The effects are seen in reservoirs statewide.
“Shocked. I come here all the time to run and walk. I’ve never seen the reservoir this low,” said Katie Newman, of Point Boro, while out for a walk along the Brick Reservoir.
State climatologist David Robinson sounded the alarm during the emergency DEP drought meeting.
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“Then to add insult to injury, along came a map I never thought in my 30-plus years I would see, that would be a shut out of precipitation in the month of October,” said Robinson.
It comes as people like Newman deal with the effects of the drought, fires and smoke.
“I opened my back door and said, ‘Oh, someone’s having a fire,’ and turned on the news and we’re members of that shotgun club and were very concerned that happened right there,” she said.
Newman was referring to a wildfire in Jackson Township that burned 350 acres of land.
New Jersey remains on a drought watch – which means increasing awareness and encouraging voluntary water reductions.
A drought warning is the next action level where the DEP commissioner urges the public to voluntarily reduce water usage. The DEP may also issue orders to purveyors to manage supplies in most affected regions.
“A section of the area in the Pinelands to the coast is in extreme drought. That’s something one wouldn’t expect more than once every 20 to 50 years,” added Robinson.
Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to speak Wednesday morning on the ongoing drought conditions.
