Drought Present After Soaking Rain
By Justin Caudell
The rain, rain has gone away, hopefully, to return again some other day.
Tropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico aided Cashiers last week to
dump nearly 5.40 inches of rain over the area, but more precipitation is
still needed to aid drought conditions.
As of press time, Jackson County is currently one of 72 counties listed in
the "Exceptional Drought" category by the North Carolina Drought
Management Advisory Council, and part of a growing region in the South
facing water problems. The NCDMAC urges every county that lies in the
"exceptional" category to limit water usage to those uses that are
essential to ensure public health and safety and to follow local rationing
plans. But no such stipulations are active right now.
The North Carolina Division of Water Resources lists that of the three
main water systems around Cashiers and Jackson County, only one is
listed as asking for voluntary water restrictions. Western Carolina
University and the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authrity both issued
water shortage response plans on October 23 in case of future rationing
requirements, but WCU is currently the only system requesting action
now. The university is asking all students and faculty on campus to
"voluntary" cut back on water uses until futher notice. The remaining
water system in the area, Fairfield Sapphire Valley, which is operated by
CWS Systems, has not yet issued any plans or requirements to attack
any future water problems.
According to Cashiers Weather Service statistics, Cashiers is only about
five inches of rain off of where the rain gauge stood at this time last year,
and the region still made it to the average yearly rainfall of 75 inches by
December.
But conditions were different then, rain was not as widespread as it is this
year, and there was not as much of a worry of whether or not
precipitation would come.
There were no strong chances for rainfall until next week and Cashiers
may be headed toward a longer spell without rain.
As we ease into the winter months, snow will be the dominate
precipitation to help drought conditions, and currently, the winter outlook
appears to be mild.
Tropical Storm Noel, which formed Sunday in the Caribbean, is also not
expected to help the drought in Cashiers.
For a list on how to conserve water, go to http://p2pays.org/water.
Residents can check the status of their community's water conservation
measures at
www.ncwater.org/Drought_Monitoring/reporting/displaystate.php.