New well readings reported
Water Advisory Committee member Greg Toner
Islanders should maintain voluntary water conservation measures, according to the Water Advisory Committee (WAC) that issued a report on well water levels for the month of August. September readings won’t be released until sometime in October.
Mid-August’s high rainfall resulted in readings that were just above their normal median heights for the month and the U.S. Drought Monitor has removed all of Long Island from its list of areas that could be subject to droughts, according to Greg Toner, who crunches the numbers provided by the United States Geological Survey for the town.
That means there is no expectation of any drought at least through November, Mr. Toner said.
Only the Menantic well showed the lowest value for August on record, he said, noting it has had low median readings for the past four months. It is the only well of the 14 test sites where readings are negative at -28 percent of its median reading.
All the other test wells show median monthly readings of 44 to 92 percent above their monthly median readings for August 2018.
As for monthly readings, changes from July to August were generally below their July median readings. Only Little Ram showed a 0.02 uptick from its July median reading.
Both July and August typically show declines as the Island’s population increases with part-time residents and tourists increasing the use of water on the Island.
