Still recovering

More rain is needed to ease drought restrictions

It is raining again. After months of dry, sunny skies, clouds and showers have returned. But not enough. Not yet. The Quinte region, including Prince Edward County remains in Level 3 drought condition. Restrictions imposed on water use remain in place, likely to stay there for several more weeks according to Quinte Conservation—a provincially mandated authority entrusted with the management and safety of the watershed.

The rain began to fall just days after Quinte Conservation’s Low Water Response Team declared the region to be in drought condition and recommended restrictions to water use. Since then, about 130 millimeters has fallen according to measurements taken at Environment Canada’s Trenton station. More is coming this week.

But as Quinte Conservation’s Christine McClure explains, the drought experienced this summer was so severe, and the impact so deeply felt across the region, that it will take many months, or perhaps seasons, to recover.

She says that despite the welcome rain, some key indicators continue to worsen.

The water resource manager says that nearly all of the rain that has fallen since early August has been absorbed by thirsty vegetation—lawns, trees and plants that have been deprived and in some cases ushered into dormancy during what should have been the height of the growing season. Brown and crispy lawns have become soft, green carpets again, while vegetation has responded with a renewed growth spurt—though too late for many crops.

Some of the recent moisture has also been lost to evaporation—rising to fill clouds to fall elsewhere. The result is that the County’s creeks, streams and rivers remain at very low levels.

“Streamflows are still less than 30 per cent of average summer low flows and, despite the recent rain, the flows are continuing to decline,” said McClure. “When it does not rain, there is limited water to maintain streamflow and groundwater levels. In the past month, Prince Edward County has received quite a bit of rainfall. Unfortunately these rain events did not have a lasting impact on our streamflows or groundwater table and did not make up for the overall deficit that began in March of 2016.”

Initially, the municipality barred the taking of water from Roblin Lake for use by livestock as part of a host of water restrictions across the County. Shire Hall later eased that specific restriction—but otherwise activities such as watering lawns, washing cars and filling pools remain strictly regulated.

The municipality has also established two bulk water supply stations for public use—one in Carrying Place, the other in Wellington—in addition to the permanent station in Picton. These are coin-operated systems with users paying $3.07 per cubic metre (1,000 litres).

In the meantime, McClure and her team are watching stream levels closely—looking for signs the watershed is recharging itself.

The depth of the drought has left a big hole in the region’s water supply.

“Based on how our surface water and groundwater have responded to the recent rains it is evident that significantly more rainfall or rain combined with less evapotranspiration is required to return to normal conditions,” said McClure.