Well levels lower than usual for start of tourist season
Ken Pysher of the Water Advisory Committee tracks well water levels provided by the United States Geological Survey.
Water level readings for the month of May trended down for 10 of the town’s 13 test wells, according to Ken Pysher, who interprets the numbers provided by the United States Geological Survey.The readings were performed on May 20, prior to the influx of visitors for the Memorial Day weekend.
The increased population that picks up on the holiday weekend and lasts through the summer months at least until Labor Day, is when the town’s well water supply generally trends down, barring a lot of rain to replenish the supply.
But the test wells at Menantic and Evans Road, Dering Harbor Village, Hay Beach and Shorewood are at their historical lowest levels for May and all 13 wells are below their May averages, Mr. Pysher said.
“It is unusually dry for this time of year, considering the heaviest months of water usage are just beginning,” he said.
The only three test wells that trended up were on Big Ram Island, Manwaring Road at Route 114, and Little Ram Island, according to the report. Yet even those readings were lower than they have been in May since 2011.
“We need rain,” Mr. Pysher said.
When the Water Advisory Committee meets on June 8, the low readings will, no doubt, be a topic for discussion and the committee can be expected to closely monitor the well levels and weather conditions during the summer with an eye to whether or not to recommend that the Town Board declare a water emergency.
The Town Board has that power if persistent dry conditions call for such a declaration that could limit water use, particularly with respect to lawn watering. The town already requires that those with pools fill them with water trucked in from off-Island.
