Rainfall insufficient to raise well water levels
Despite 5.78 inches of rain that fell in October and November, all 13 test wells on the Island trended down, according to the latest reports provided by the United States Geological Survey and compiled for the Water Advisory Committee by its Acting Chairman Ken Pysher.All wells were below their November averages, Mr. Pysher said.
Finding a silver lining, he said the good news is that all are above their lowest ever levels for the month of November, although the Dering Harbor test well is only 4.23 percent above its lowest November reading.
“We need some good soakers — two and three day ones,” Councilman Paul Shepherd said about the numbers. He’s the Town Board’s liaison to the WAC.
Despite the total rainfall, it isn’t meeting recharge levels, he said, noting that several storms that hit the North and South forks just bypassed the Island.
“Painful to watch them slip by north or south,” Mr. Shepherd said. “Hopefully the law of averages will assert itself and we’ll find ourselves in the sweet spot a bit more often.”
