posted 04-07-2002 11:50 PM               

We had a couple of big storm clouds move in alright but didn't get any precipitation from them. The haze got real thick after sunset and we're pretty much covered by it now. I don't think the clouds had a chance.

posted 04-08-2002 12:37 PM               

Drought's dusty hand grips state (The Arizona Daily Star) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/azstar/20020406/lo/drought_s_dusty_hand_grips_state_1.html
SIERRA VISTA - Arizona is parched after its third-driest winter since 1895, so Gov. Jane Hull is preparing to ask federal officials for disaster relief to help drought-stricken farmers and ranchers.

Drought Emergency Declared in Five Md. Counties (WJLA) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wjla/20020405/lo/drought_emergency_declared_in_five_md_counties_1.html
Saying recent rains aren't enough to alleviate the state's severe drought, Gov. Parris Glendening declared a drought emergency Friday in four central Maryland counties and portions of three others.

Wet weather rules the central states (Weather.com) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/wcom/20020407/we_wcom/wet_weather_rules_the_central_states
...Philadelphia and New York City will get into the wet weather to help with the drought problems....

Obscure restrictions worry green industry (Allentown Morning Call) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/mcall/20020407/lo/obscure_restrictions_worry_green_industry_1.html
... this year because they incorrectly think they can't water plants, trees and shrubs during a drought emergency....

Neighborhood Watch Takes On New Meaning During Drought (WCVB TheBostonChannel.com) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wcvb/20020405/lo/1153875_1.html
...Although our region experienced several inches of rain during the month of March, the drought continues....

Farmers in poppy-growing village say Afghanistan's eradication program is unfair (AP) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020407/ap_wo_en_ge/afghan_poppy_farmers_2
... are very poor and for the last four years, our land and agriculture have been affected by drought," Abibullah said....

posted 04-08-2002 02:22 PM               

Maryland governor restricts water usage… http://www.fredericknewspost.com/display.cfm?storyid=19468
Wells going dry as drought worsens
"Wells are beginning to run dry ... ponds are drying up and groundwater levels are declining dramatically," he said, describing events in Frederick County that already had spurred restrictions in six cities and towns.

posted 04-10-2002 12:40 AM               

Drought Wreaks Havoc in Maine, and Residents Fear the Worst Is Yet to Come
The Associated Press

BROWNFIELD, Maine April 9 — Carol Noonan knew the drought was bad when she ran out of water in the middle of her shower and had to rinse her soapy hair with the only water around: in her dog's drinking bucket.

After their 15-foot-deep well ran dry, Noonan and her husband let their dirty dishes pile up and started using paper plates. They stopped using their clothes washer and dishwasher. They recycled by dumping water from their pasta pot into the toilet tank.

The Noonans are among thousands of Maine residents whose wells have run dry or slowed to a trickle because of a severe drought gripping the state and much of the country. It's so bad the Federal Emergency Management Agency is considering making Maine the first state ever to receive disaster funds for a drought.

Nationwide, droughts now cover about a third of the country, cutting huge swaths from Maine to Georgia in the East, and from Montana to Texas in the West.Recent rains and snow have provided a respite for some in Maine. But forecasters warn that precipitation must run well above normal for several months to bring the state out of a drought that is the worst in 107 years of record-keeping.

In a state with thousands of lakes and rivers and an ocean full of water lapping at the coast, Maine residents are accustomed to plentiful water. The state gets more than 40 inches of rain a year; there are 7,000 rivers and 5 million acres of wetlands; and the state's 5,785 lakes and ponds cover an area larger than Rhode Island.

Getting that water to the tap isn't as easy as it sounds given that about 280,000 Maine households, or roughly 45 percent of the state, get water from wells instead of a public system. Of those, about 53,000 are shallow-water wells that are only 10 to 20 feet deep and most susceptible to drying up.

Peter Mead of Brownfield, who uses a shallow well, thought his pump had gone bad when his tap ran dry in January. Wells run dry in the summer, he thought, not in the heart of winter.Now he fills a pickup truck load of containers with water from town and transfers them to three plastic garbage cans in his front hallway. This is the household water for cooking, cleaning and the toilets.To shower, Mead, 50, stands in a washtub-like receptacle and pours water heated on his wood stove over his head. The three children who still live at home shower at friends' houses."This is my water system right now," Mead said sadly as he looked at the garbage cans in his front hall. "You gotta do what you gotta do, I guess."Only, he hasn't a clue what he might do next.

Even if the federal government issues low-interest loans to dig new wells, he doesn't know how he would afford it; he's recovering from back surgery and isn't working these days."Four or five thousand dollars? I don't have it," he said. "I don't think many people do."Here in Brownfield, a town of 1,251 on the New Hampshire border, there are a number of signs that the months ahead could be tough ones.

Vicki Coffee, who is used to having standing water in her basement because of spring showers and melting snow, said her basement is dry. So are the woods across from her house, which are normally a knee-deep quagmire come spring. The Saco River, which cuts through town, is lower and flatter than usual.Noonan and her husband, Jeffrey Flagg, recently bought two 100-gallon water tanks to keep in reserve, and are optimistic about having water in the months ahead. Of course, they felt the same way last summer when they first ran out.Having occasionally gone days without showers or fresh clothes, Noonan has learned a new appreciation of water. She's also learned humility. "You lose a lot of shame," Noonan said. http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20020409_108.html

Despite rainy days, Vermont still feeling drought
04/08/2002 - Updated 08:14 AM ET

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont needs a prolonged period of wet weather to restore water levels and reduce the risk of wildfires after the severe drought of the last year, according to state and local officials.

Ponds, lakes and streams are low. Wells have dried up. And Forests and Parks officials are preparing for what could be a busy fire season, said Brent Teillon, chief of forest protection for the Department of Forests and Parks.Teillon hopes Vermont can get a helicopter, owned by New York state, to be stationed at the Bennington State Airport. The helicopter has a bucket that can dump water on hard-to-reach fires.

Specialized help could also come from Canada, which owns "water bombers" — large airplanes that scoop water out of lakes and drop it on fires."This is the first time in over 30 years that I've seen preparations like what I've seen this year," Teillon said.

Rain levels over the last year are down 10 to 15 inches from normal in different parts of the state, said state hydrologist Robert Farley.An early runoff due to mild temperatures in February staved off further reductions, Farley said. But many wells aren't recharging as expected, and the recent rains would only be a reprieve if Vermont doesn't experience a prolonged period of rain soon, he said. "I grew up around here and I've never seen a drought like this before," said George Spear of Ottauquechee Well Drilling in Woodstock. "It's been good for business, but it's bad for the state and I hope it ends soon."Wildfire season starts soon. The ground and the dead grasses that cover it at this time of year are the driest during a brief period between the end of the runoff and the first budding of the trees, Teillon said."We've had a lucky reprieve these last few weeks," he said. "But it only takes a few days of wind and sun to dry things out enough for fires to start."

posted 04-10-2002 12:54 AM               

this is what it looked like here or did monday afternoon...after 4.23 inches fell...

I don't want any more freakin' rain !

http://www.geocities.com/theseeker_0714b/flood.html

posted 04-10-2002 01:54 AM               

By Louis Porter
Staff Writer

April 9, 2002

STAMFORD -- Frank Gaglio Jr. is worried you think he's using too much water during the drought.

The owner of Camp Avenue Car Wash points out that his business recycles its water and uses less water per car than people who wash their cars in their driveways. He has even put out flyers explaining his water use. "They think we use a lot of water, but we don't," Gaglio said. Like other car washes in Stamford, Camp Avenue is working with the city to control its water use during the Phase 2 water emergency the city is under, Gaglio said.

It is the only one of the 15 car washes in Stamford now recycles water, said Dr. Anthony Iton, Stamford health director. And no regulations are in place to monitor car washes, which can use as much 10,000 gallons a day each.

"Most of the car washes in Stamford did at one time install recycling equipment," said Glenn Thornhill, a former vice president of water firm BHC Co. who is working as a drought consultant for the city. Some systems have fallen into disrepair or are no longer used.

Mayor Dannel Malloy's Task Force on Water Conservation met for the first time yesterday to address car washes and other drought-related problems.

City reservoirs are about 64 percent full. Normally, this is the time of year when the reservoirs are refilling, and they should be about 92 percent full. This the second year of the drought.

"We have about 180 days before we get to the low point," Thornhill said. Stamford uses about 15 million gallons of city water a day, according to BHC.

By city ordinance, it is illegal during the drought for residents to fill their pools, water their lawns, wash their cars at home, leave their plumbing unprepared or use fire hydrants if there is no emergency.

But these rules may need adjustment as the city's water woes continue, the mayor acknowledged yesterday. It has not been decided how the regulations will work with regard to car washes and other businesses that use city water.

The water task force plans to draft legislation to replace or supplement the water ordinances currently in place.

"Our hope in putting together these regulations is not to impose on anybody's ability to make a living," said Iton, a member of the task force. "I don't think that would be reasonable."

Pools are another issue the regulations will address. Malloy said that if the city keeps the restrictions in place, which prohibit any filing of pools, people may disobey the regulations. Instead, the city may institute regulations that require pool covers, which decrease water lost through evaporation.

"It is clear that we need a pool regulation and a lawn care regulation," Malloy said. The task force will work to prepare the rules for the Board of Representatives by the first week of May. The situation gets more serious each day that passes without regular rainfall, Malloy said. "I'm getting nervous, and I take this very seriously," he said.

Ben Barnes, director of public safety, health and welfare, said the city's water restrictions also apply to well users.

Well users will be affected by the drought just as the city reservoirs are, even if it is not as quick, Thornhill said. "The immediate impacts of a drought show up first in the surface water supply," he said.

Thornhill also said speculation that the city could use water from a large underground aquifer, which is beneath downtown, is not well founded. "These rumors about enormous aquifers under the city, they don't exist," he said. "There's this mystical aquifer that is always brought up whenever there's a drought."

posted 04-11-2002 12:03 PM            

Drought takes toll on state landscape

CANEY BEND STATE PARK, OK -- From a rocky bluff where a recent brush fire has blackened the dry earth, one can see where the Caney River stops -- about 100 yards short of the dwindling reservoir it feeds.

The wings of gulls, cranes and ducks flying across the river slap murky water that has stagnated just west of the exposed beds of Hulah Lake.

Drought in northern Oklahoma and in the Caney's basin in southern Kansas has sapped more than 80 percent of the water from the lake, which is the chief water source for Bartlesville.....
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=846221&pic=none&TP=getarticle

4/10/02

Federal Study Calls Spending on Water Systems Perilously Inadequate

Annual spending to maintain and expand water and sewage systems is lagging tens of billions of dollars behind what is needed to keep up with population growth and tightening health and pollution standards, federal environmental officials have found.

A draft report by the Environmental Protection Agency says that by 2019, the accumulated gap between actual and necessary investments in these vital, but largely invisible, underpinnings of urbanized America is likely to exceed $650 billion.

The trend threatens to hinder urban economies as long-deferred costs for cleaning up water come due, and to harm coastal waters and public health as water and sewage treatment capacity falls short, according to the analysis, which confirms studies by private groups.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/10/national/10POLL.html

4/9/02

Fiery Inferno Engulfs Vietnamese National Park

HANOI, Vietnam, April 9, 2002 (ENS) - Thousands of policemen, military personnel, forest rangers and local residents have joined forces to fight a fire eating its way through U Minh Thuong National Park in the southernmost province of Kien Giang.

The forest fire, which officials say started on March 23, has been raging out of control. A report of Vietnam's official news agency VNA today says firefighters have contained the blaze but not before it destroyed an estimated 4,200 hectares (10,378 acres) of peat swamp forest, wiping out about half the national park.
Temperatures in the fire's core area have hit 50 degrees Celsius and reached thousands of degrees in the deep layers of burning peat and coal beneath the forest floor.

Combined soaring temperatures and strong winds have occasionally produced large fireballs, endangering the remaining forest and hampering efforts to extinguish the fire.

The smoke is rising from the U Minh Thuong blaze to join the smoke from many fires that currently dot the landscape across much of Southeast Asia, filling the skies with a thick blanket of smoke over much of the region.

This is normally the dry season, and in addition, a drought that has lasted since the El Nino weather pattern of 1998 has limited the availability of fresh water, making firefighting a tough job.....
http://www.ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-09-02.html

4/9/02

Dwindling water supplies are the world's biggest challenge

SYDNEY -- A lack of clean water will be the biggest issue facing the world in the next 50 years, and governments and business are failing to face up to the challenge, a senior Australian researcher said on Monday.....
http://envirolink.netforchange.com/frame.html?page=search.html%3Fcatid%3D10%26s ourcetype%3Dnews

4/10/02

INTERVIEW - China grain imports to surge as water dries up

TOKYO - China could begin large-scale grain imports within a year as dwindling water resources force it to eat into its big stockpiles, putting pressure on grain prices around the globe, a prominent agriculture economist said.

Drought and overpumping have created a huge grain deficit in China, where consumption now outstrips production by some 45 million tonnes a year, Lester Brown, chairman of environmental watchdog Worldwatch Institute, said in an interview.

"They've dealt with that by drawing on their reserves but they can't do that for much longer," he said.

"They might be able to do it for one more year, but at some point China's going to turn to the world market.".....
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15430/story.htm

4/11/02

King asks Bush to declare drought-stricken state a federal disaster area

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Governor Angus King asked President Bush on Wednesday to declare Maine a major disaster area due to extreme drought conditions.

The widely anticipated request could trigger federal aid for public utilities such as water districts and individuals hard hit by drought conditions.

In a letter to the White House, King wrote that since the drought began last June, more than 16,000 Maine households have been without water. And 2,300 families in the state currently have no water, he wrote.

The governor's letter asked Bush to declare a disaster area in all 16 Maine counties. He wrote that the state has so far spent more than $5 million, or $4.15 per resident, on drought-related expenses.

"I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude," King wrote, "that effective response is beyond the capability of the state and affected local governments.".....
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/101/region/King_asks_Bush_to_declare_drou%3A.shtml

4/11/02

Drought task force holds monthly meeting

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) State and federal officials will meet Thursday to discuss drought conditions in New York that appear to be improving slightly.

Snow and rain has fallen around New York since the last meeting of the state Drought Management Task Force on March 14. But drought warnings and less severe drought watches remain in effect across much of eastern New York following an abnormally dry winter.

The National Weather Service reports that the soil remains relatively dry and that water tables remain well below normal. However, water tables have risen the last two weeks, according to meteorologists.

Meanwhile, streams continue to run low in southeastern New York, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.....
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/101/region/Drought_task_force_holds_month%3A.shtml

4/11/02

State wide drought watch still in effect

Hyannis, MA -- The state's drought management task force this week decided not to change the statewide drought "watch," which was imposed last month because of low precipitation levels.

Officials with the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs said yesterday the task force decided to meet again in two weeks, rather than its normal four-week interval, to see if there has been any improvement or deterioration in the drought situation.

A "watch" is the third step in a five-step alert process, from "normal" to "emergency," reflecting the severity of drought conditions.

Cape Cod is slightly above normal for precipitation this time of year, with 12.78 inches recorded so far this year. The average is 12.46 inches.

posted 04-12-2002 09:37 PM            

Dry Winter Sparks Early Fire Season

The official fire season in much of Southern California will start a month earlier than usual this year because of one of the driest winters on record.

The start of this year's season has been moved up to Monday in several counties, and fire officials warn that the danger of brush fires probably will remain high until the expected return of seasonal rains shortly before Christmas.....
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000026081apr12.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia

4/12/02

Cool March, spring storms help drought conditions

HELENA, MT -- A cool March and late spring storms helped drought conditions across the state, but not as much as might be expected, members of the Montana Drought Advisory Committee said Thursday.

"March was very kind to the mountain areas," said Roy Kaiser, a water supply specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. March storms brought new snow to the mountains, and cool temperatures helped keep the snow there, he said.

Most of those snowstorms brought only a quarter of an inch or less of precipitation, but by the end of March, some parts of western Montana were actually showing above normal precipitation for the period beginning Oct. 1 of 2001, said Ken Mielke, Montana meteorologist-in-charge for the National Weather Service.

And both Great Falls and Cut Bank experienced the coldest March on record, Mielke said.

But the kindness of March didn't extend far into eastern and southern Montana.
Snowpack in the areas near Red Lodge and the Wyoming border is still a "major problem," Kaiser said. And Mielke said precipitation totals for central and eastern Montana are well below normal for this time of year.

"We need rains now, and timely rains," Kaiser said.

Because dry soils will soak up water before it gets into streams, many places that had good snowpack this year will need additional moisture before streams are running with normal flows, Kaiser said.

Dry soils are already a big problem for agriculture producers, said state statistician Peggy Stringer of the Montana Agricultural Statistics Services.....
http://www.helenair.com/montana/9A3.html

4/12/02

Parched Optima Lake loses last campground

GUYMON, OK -- Not only is Optima Lake a body without water, it also is without a campground.

Angler Point, the last campground in the often-dry Panhandle lake, did not open April 1 because of budget cuts and decreased usage, said Ray Kunka, who manages Optima and Fort Supply lakes for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"We really have to set our priorities," Kunka said.

The corps is facing budget cuts, which will delay several large repair projects.

The 21-site campground had been open since 1981, when the parks were completed at Optima. In 1994, the corps closed its Optima office, an overnight campground and two day-use areas. Another site was never opened because the area had few visitors.

Angler Point remained open because it did not have a shower/rest room that needed the frequent attention of corps employees. When the office closed, no employees remained.

The number of visitors at the lake has always been small. The lake, built for flood control, water supply and recreation, was completed in the late 1970s but never filled to capacity.

The lake was designed to hold 5,300 acres of water but never had more than 1,200 acres, Kunka said.

Many theories exist as to why the lake never filled, but the corps never did an official study, he said. Possible reasons include irrigation, lack of rain and evaporation.

The water was just a few inches deep over the winter, Kunka said.

"It's basically dry," he said......
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=847252&pic=none&TP=getarticle

4/12/02

Drought will reduce mosquito population, but not bites

BANGOR, ME -- Dick Dearborn finds mosquitoes fascinating.

An entomologist with the Maine Forest Service, he may well be the only Mainer who is sorry to learn that a continued drought will reduce the mosquito population dramatically in much of the state.

posted 04-12-2002 09:47 PM               

Environment: Rainfall is near a record low, raising the risk for 3.4 million acres in Southland.

By TIMOTHY HUGHES
TIMES STAFF WRITER

April 12 2002

The official fire season in much of Southern California will start a month earlier than usual this year because of one of the driest winters on record.

The start of this year's season has been moved up to Monday in several counties, and fire officials warn that the danger of brush fires probably will remain high until the expected return of seasonal rains shortly before Christmas.

The 3.4 million acres of Southern California land patrolled by state firefighters are drier than at any point since 1976, when records were first kept, officials said. "There is huge, thick brush, and it's dying off," Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman Sandi Wells said. "This fire season has the potential to be the most dangerous in years. It could be devastating."

Taking a cue from the state Department of Forestry, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties will begin their fire seasons in three days. This heightened alert calls for extra staffing, increased public education and more equipment to stop wildfires before they spread.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department has not extended its season yet, but officials said it probably will begin before mid-May, the traditional starting time. "'It's done to increase public awareness, to let people know that the stuff out there is ready to burn," said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Kurt Schaefer.

To prevent flare-ups, several controlled burns are scheduled in the next four weeks across Ventura County. Fire departments in other counties are calling up seasonal hand crews early to ensure adequate coverage.

Ventura County is monitoring homes adjacent to rural brush areas, Wells said. More than 17,000 weed-abatement notices will be sent out April 20 to remind owners to clear brush within 100 feet of their homes or risk having a $635 fine added to their tax bill, plus the cost for county cleanup crews.

Officials say the lack of rain, combined with overgrown brush, makes areas throughout Southern California--including the Conejo Valley, the foothill areas of Angeles National Forest, the Santa Monica Mountains and others--ripe for a return of the sort of devastating firestorms that occurred in 1993.

At least 450 homes and 70,000 acres of brush and timberland went up in flames when wildfires hit portions of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties that October.

"We are as dry as a bone," Deputy Chief Bob Green of the state forestry department said Thursday. "You have the ingredients for fires to spread faster and with more intensity. This is not a normal occurrence."

Forecasters say this could be the driest rainfall season on record. Only 4.27 inches of rain have fallen in downtown Los Angeles since the beginning of the season, which runs from July 1 to June 31. The driest season on record was 1960-1961, with 4.85 inches.

Santa Ana has collected just under 3 inches of rain so far. Last year, the city had 14.04 inches of rain by April 10.

The season's rainfall total for Ventura County is 6.78 inches, compared with nearly 24 inches at this time in 2001. In Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, rainfall levels are nearly 5 inches below 2001.

Forecasters say an incipient El Nino meteorological condition could bring heaver-than-usual rains later this year, but they probably won't start until shortly before Christmas. Southern California's fire season usually runs from May 15 through November, with the most extensive blazes in late summer and early fall.

Green said fires have scorched more than 6,000 acres from San Luis Obispo to the Mexican border since January. Normally, he said, no more than 700 acres burn during that period. "All the staff I have talked to have not recalled having this intensity of fires," Green said.

posted 04-13-2002 08:15 PM               

April 13, 2002

STAMFORD -- City officials have come up with a tentative list of mandatory water-use restrictions, including a requirement for thermal pool covers, a mandate for businesses to develop plans to cut use by 20 percent and a continuing ban on private car washing.

Officials hope to have the restrictions in place by May 6.

Reservoirs are about 64 percent full, according to BHC Co., Stamford's water provider. The normal level for this time of year is about 92 percent. Mayor Dannel Malloy declared a water emergency Feb. 14 as most of the Northeast region is suffering from the drought.

Hotels, among the city's largest water users, are taking steps to reduce consumption.

Some are notifying guests, who might not be from the region, that Stamford is in a drought emergency. They also are asking guests whether they want daily changes of bed linens and towels.

Eric Churchill, general manager of the Holiday Inn Select, said the hotel also has reduced in-house laundry service from seven to four days a week and serves water in its restaurant only if it is requested.

Churchill said the hotel has not asked guests to reduce water consumption in other ways but that may change if drought conditions worsen.

The mayor's Task Force on Water Conservation is drawing up the proposed restrictions, which need the approval of the Board of Representatives. The restrictions would expand current prohibitions that automatically went into effect when Malloy declared the water emergency. They would affect residents on public water and those who use private wells.

Yesterday, the panel's Regulation Subcommittee met and drafted guidelines. Director of Public Safety, Health and Welfare Benjamin Barnes said the draft restrictions are subject to review and change by the full task force, Malloy and city representatives.

In some cases, the proposals ease existing restrictions. If they go into effect, the city would allow residents to fill pools but would not allow companies that deliver pool water to get it from the Stamford public water system.

Barnes said pool-filling companies say they use 30 million gallons of water a year but "there is no way that's coming into Stamford pools." He said companies fill pools across the entire region using water from Stamford sources.

"There are areas where people can fill trucks farther afield, that don't have as bad a water problem," Barnes said, noting that the move could raise the cost of filling local pools.

Barnes said the proposed restriction could change, depending on whether water levels improve or worsen. Kiddie pools would not be affected, he said.

Barnes said the city plans to require thermal coverings for pools to stem the evaporation of millions of gallons of water over the summer.

Other restrictions the city is considering include:

* Watering lawns and gardens would be allowed only by hand or hand-held hoses from 5 to 8 a.m. and 8 to 11 p.m. Sprinkler use would be outlawed; golf courses, nurseries and landscaping companies would be exempted but required to file plans to cut water consumption by 20 percent.

* Fixing plumbing leaks within 48 hours and repairing and operating any existing water-saving devices, such as water recycling systems or flow restrictors.

* Allowing car washes but restricting to 45 gallons the amount of fresh water allowed for each car.

* Banning the use of indoor and outdoor decorative fountains.

Barnes said businesses that have taken steps to reduce water usage in the past year would be given credit for the reductions.

The Sheraton Stamford Hotel on Summer Street has posted signs alerting guests to the local water supply problem and asking them to conserve. The hotel also has begun using plastic cups and paper plates in its staff dining area to cut dishwasher use, an administrator said.

posted 04-14-2002 02:28 AM               

On 4/11/02, we were sprayed pretty much all day.

On 4/12/02, the sky was covered by a thick layer of haze and we had a little rain before midnight but it only amounted to 0.6"

On 4/13/02, the sky was hazy and jets were seen spraying again. It started to rain a little bit after midnight, but it has so far only amounted to 0.22" of precipitation.

posted 04-14-2002 12:32 PM            

For the record, I corroborate completely your report of trails [and precipitation] activity between April 10 and April 13, 2002.

April 11 and April 12 were particularly Heavy Duty Days. Unbelievable, frankly.

Even my 67-year-old aunt in Hull, MA noted the activity of April 11 - and said she has "never seen anything like that in her life."

Deborah
Boston, MA

By the way, daytime temps up here are running in the low-mid 70's for the last few days - excepting last Thursday. Last night, April 13, at 11:40pm EDT, the temperature was 64 degrees.

posted 04-14-2002 10:28 PM               

UPPER POTTSGROVE, Pa. (April 12, 2002 10:43 a.m. EDT) - Mary Ellen Miller is eating her lunch picnic-style - with paper plates and cups. But she's not out under the oak and maple trees. She's in her kitchen, where the three other members of her family are dining a la Chinette to save water normally used to wash dishes. So, too, is Lucky, the family dog. "I call it camping in my own house," she says.

What's happening to Miller and her family is being replayed up and down the East Coast as localized areas of the region cope with the worst winter drought since the 1930s.

Homeowners are busy fixing leaky faucets, putting off washing the family car, and, in thrifty moments like Miller's, choosing Styrofoam over stemware at the dinner table.

From Maine to Georgia, states and localities are forming task forces to figure out ways to encourage - and force - conservation. One familiar sight: the return of the dreaded water "police," who ticket people for overwatering lawns or otherwise turning on the tap too much.

Going into the spring, the water levels in some places are as much as 50 percent from where they normally are before summer starts to increase demand. The drought has been around for at least 18 months, but has deepened since September.

"It's as if we missed out on a year of rain," says Frank Richards, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Washington.

The lack of water is particularly painful for those who use wells, because it can take some time for water to percolate up to the level where it can be pumped to the surface. In some cases, the underground aquifers aren't yielding much water at all.

Residents of Upper Pottsgrove can attest to that. Immediately after the state declared a drought emergency, the town of 4,102 declared its own, which is reinforced every seven days.

"We wanted to have it in place in case there is financial assistance available," says David Paulsen, township manager.

The state and township restrictions mean that homeowners are not allowed to water their lawns, the little league field will turn brown and hard this summer, and the fairways at the Twin Ponds golf course may look more like they belong in Abu Dhabi. Most residents are resigned to dirty cars, and the township is asking people to hold off on filling their pools for the summer.

"June, July, and August could be killers for us," says Julie Lyn Gallisdorfer, a local commissioner. She now has a garage loaded with water donated by Wal-Mart to help senior citizens, and she's asking other food stores and companies to pitch in. "We have a lot of seniors on fixed incomes, and the state officials have to realize the municipalities are going to need assistance," she says.

While fickle weather is largely to blame for the lack of water here, so, too, is growth. Upper Pottsgrove is a scenic bedroom community one hour from Philadelphia, where roads curve through wooded hills and ridges.

Houses built in the 1950s are sprinkled among newer subdivisions erected in the 1980s by developers who wanted to provide moderately-priced middle-class housing. Residents are proud of a the Currier and Ives feel of the town, where they only have three traffic lights to navigate and where one of the restaurants is an inn dating back to the 1840s.

Yet in one of the town's many subdivisions, Regal Oaks, residents are now trying to adapt to the era of limits. Brian and Shawnn Blymiller have stopped using their own washing machines, driving to a laundry instead. Like many residents, they've made one of the ultimate personal sacrifices - only flushing their toilets when they need to.

Not far away, Janet Schreiber has a collection of buckets poised underneath the rain spouts of her house. She uses the rain water for her plants. "We'd like to water but we can't," she says. She limits herself to one load of laundry per day, a challenge with an active young son, Dustin, prone to grass stains.

The Millers, who live up a hill, are probably the worst affected in the subdivision. Almost daily, Miller drops a small stone down her well and times how long it takes to hit the water.

Last fall, the wait became so interminable that, after burning out two pumps, the family started spending its savings on trucking in water. She estimates they have spent $1,200 to $1,300 through the winter on their water supplies.

"Our son is getting married, and we'd love to be able to help out with the wedding, but all our money is going to water," she says.

And the Millers are careful with their usage. She gets up early to shower at her father's house, where she also does the family laundry. He lives a few miles away in a town that has more water.

From her dad's place, she also periodically lugs as many as 19 jugs of water to use for flushing the toilet and brushing teeth. When they do have enough water in their well for a shower, she calls it a "spit shine."

A few houses away, Ryan Fitzpatrick, a professional landscaper, is fertilizing a lawn. Under state law, he's allowed to use water as long as it's done in a manner "that ensures effective conservation." If the drought continues, he estimates it will cut into his business by as much as 30 percent.
"You can't spread your weed killer," he says. "The customers will be upset."

Private water companies, too, are watching the drought with concern. The Superior Water Co. supplies 1,500 area residents from deep aquifers. So far, it hasn't had any trouble meeting demand. But that could change.

"If there is no rain this summer, it will have an impact on us next summer," says Dave Milan, the chief executive officer.

One place where business is booming is at C.S. Garber & Sons, which drills and deepens wells. Last year, the company bored 40 "emergency" wells as families ran out of water. They've drilled 60 so far this year.

"We've never experienced it this bad this early in the year," says John Reed, a manager.

Just how dire things have become is evident from one family's experience in nearby Hanover. Even with four wells, they can't do two loads of laundry back to back. Consequently, the family now is talking about deepening one of the wells and fracturing the granite rocks to get more water. "I feel really bad when they spend all that money and don't get much water," Reed says. http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/357592p-2906791c.html

posted 04-16-2002 09:34 AM               

Fill 'er up Mayor repeals pool restrictions

By Louis Porter
Staff Writer

April 16, 2002

STAMFORD -- Though Stamford's reservoirs are still below where they should be at this time of year, Mayor Dannel Malloy has repealed the prohibition on filling swimming pools.

"We want to be very realistic," Malloy said, "we don't want to have regulations which everyone will almost universally ignore."

Instead, Malloy wants pools covered to prevent evaporation and prevent pool trucks headed to other towns from filling in Stamford.

In mid-February, the city declared a water emergency and instituted a city ordinance that restricted filling pools, watering lawns, washing cars, leaving leaky plumbing unrepaired and using fire hydrants when there is no fire.

The Mayor's Task Force on Water Conservation is drafting regulations that would replace the city ordinance after approval by the Board of Representatives early next month.

Stamford's reservoirs are 66 percent full, when they should be 93 percent full, according to BHC Co., which provides the city's water.

A ban on pool filling will not be part of the proposed regulations, Malloy said.

"Pools . . . are not as big a challenge as we originally envisioned," Malloy said.

There would not be as much water saved by keeping pools empty as city officials originally thought, Malloy said. He added that most pools in Stamford are near full already, and residents would almost certainly top them off, regardless of the restrictions.

"If people have a pool in their yard, they are going to open them," Malloy said.

Pool covers will do more to save water, Malloy said. He said he wants a regulation that would prevent maintenance companies from working on pools that do not have covers.

Pool trucks that have filled up in Stamford will be followed to ensure that they are not heading to Greenwich or other surrounding towns, Malloy said.

"If we find that a company is doing that, we will take very aggressive action," Malloy said.

Malloy also said he would encourage people who do not use their pools to leave them empty this year.

Director of Public Safety, Health and Welfare Benjamin Barnes said the city does not want to unfairly impact businesses, such as clubs, whose yearly revenue depends on keeping pools open.

"We have a lot of businesses which depend on pools. We would kill their year," he said.
http://adcontroller.unicast.com/upload/mbot/came/mbot_camera_a_v01_Tribune_I ntive_html_ad_doc.html

It's funny how the Director of Public Safety, Health and Welfare is more worried about killing businesses than looking out for the welfare of us citizens.

posted 04-16-2002 01:20 PM               

----- Original Message -----
From: Jackie Patru
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:@mail.empireaccess.net;
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 1:44 AM
Subject: RE: WHEN WATER IS NO MORE: MOST SERIOUS DROUGHT ON RECORD

If I were you I would pass this on to everyone on your list and ask them to forward to their lists. Even your families and friends who don't listen - or 'hear' - your warnings. The more people who know the TRUTH, the more the 'TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE'. This weather is HAARP controlled. (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program), and possibly/probably has a connection to the aerial spraying (chem-trails) all over the skies.

For those receiving this mail who haven't been particularly observant... take a look at the sky. Mostly on a clear day sporting a cloudless, beautiful blue sky, you'll notice the trails. They are NOT contrails. Contrails are frozen condensation from the exhaust of jet planes at high altitudes. They dissipate nearly as soon as you spot them. The 'chem-trails' are left behind in distinct patterns from unmarked planes at lower altitudes. The do not dissipate. Instead, they linger, puff up and eventually will leave the once-blue sky a grayish haze.

Fred Ehrlich has a documentary video titled: Are There Holes In Heaven? It's only 5 bucks, as are all his 'suppressed videos'. You can get ordering info here: http://www.sweetliberty.org/resources/suppressedvids.htm

It features Mr. Bernard J. Eastlund, the man who invented the HAARP technology based on Nikola Tesla's work. In 1985 Eastlund applied for patent "Method and Apparatus for Altering a Region in the Earth's Atmosphere, Ionosphere and/or Magnetosphere".

The documentary also features Dr. Nick Begich, author of Angels Don't Play This HAARP; and two nitwits from the HAARP Project explaining how they "stir up the ionosphere -- sort of like the sun does, and then bounce the signals back to earth".

If anyone doubts the weather is controlled, read this from "Basic Facts About The United Nations". Department of Public Information United Nations, New York, 1992 - DPI/1224-93-21428- April 1993 -- 75M.
"During the first 40 years a number of important first steps in the form of international arms control agreements, dealing primarily with the threat of nuclear weapons, were taken. Prominent among them are:"
(a list of treaties follows among which is:
"1977 * The Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD Convention) prohibits the use of techniques that would have widespread, long-lasting or severe effects through deliberate manipulation of natural processes and cause such phenomena as earthquakes, tidal waves and changes in climate and in weather patterns."
Notice the treaty doesn't prohibit the 'research' of such technology. It prohibits the USE of such technology that can cause "changes in climate and in weather patterns". That was in 1977. They've come a long way from 1977. The ENMOD treaty prohibits the 'hostile use' of this technology. The scam being perpetrated on all Americans is hostile in itself. In fact, this is the true meaning of the word 'terroristic activity'.

Do notice too - if you haven't - that there seems to be no normal weather anymore. Notice that whenever it rains it floods. So... we're either in a drought or flood situation. If it's flooding, not to worry. There's always the FEMA Flood Insurance to protect us. The only hook there is that if you lose your home in a HAARP-created flood -- even though you are required by your mortgage-holder to buy the insurance -- in order to have your home replaced you have to agree to relocation.

In Pennsylvania there are two bills - one each in the Senate (SB 1230) and House (HB2230)that specifically relates to total control of the water in Pennsylvania. That means TOTAL CONTROL. Although the language does not specify the terms because of its broad and vague terminology, it will including monitoring usage from wells, charging for use from wells and of course heavy penalties for those who don't comply.

All the propaganda regarding the growing scarcity of 'fresh water', along with the HAARP controlled droughts will lead state legislators to believe the water bills must be passed. They too will suffer the same rigid controls believing that they are 'protecting the environment and conserving our water'.

For city dwellers, expect more and more restrictions on use of water, along with higher prices. UNLESS, we all get busy and get our local and state elected officials educated in a hurry. Otherwise, all the UN mandates - including those of water usage - will be (are being) implemented in our own back yards.

Here's a snippet from Scripps Howard News Service, 12-26-01:
Private industry's gold rush on for water rights - by Joan Lowy

"Water will be to the 21st century what oil was to the last - vast fortunes will be made by controlling it and nations will go to war to preserve access to it.

In a world in which fresh water is increasingly scarce, that axiom is being taken to heart in the boardrooms of some of the globe's most powerful corporations.

In Nearly every corner of the planet, international water conglomerates are vying to sign operating contracts, make deals, buy rights and acquire local water supply and treatment companies. It's a worldwide water rush."
The author's assertion that 'nations will go to war to preserve access to' water raises a question: Is she a modern-day prophet?... or does she have access to inside information? Is there another neverendingwar - this one for water - currently on the drawing board?

Forewarned is forearmed. May our Father/Creator bless us - everyone! -- Jackie

----- Original Message -----
From: AC
To: >snip< Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2002 9:57 PM
Subject: WHEN WATER IS NO MORE: MOST SERIOUS DROUGHT ON RECORD

TOP_VIEW
AMERICA UNDER ATTACK/NWO Feds Will NOT Let It Rain!

posted 04-16-2002 02:12 PM               

11 April 2002

General.
The prolonged drought conditions continue for most of the states in the Atlantic coastline. Precipitation in the months of February and March was near normal helping to stabilize the precipitation deficit. The recharging season in the Northeast region is near its end and the snow pack is non-existent for most of the region.

Streamflow data monitored by USGS indicates that runoff increased slightly during the month of February in response to precipitation events. Conditions continue to be monitored and reported in bulletins as appropriate.

Precipitation
Cumulative precipitation for the Water-Year 2002 shows a deficit from normal values in the range of 2 to 13.6 inches, with the Naugatuck River Basin showing the largest deficit of 13.6 inches. Precipitation values range from slightly above normal in the Upper Connecticut River Basin to well below normal in the Naugatuck and the Thames River Basins. The 3-month period precipitation totals for the New England region ranges between 55 and 127 percent of normal. The 6-month period precipitation totals show 42 to 90 percent of normal and the 12-month period ranges between 56 and 89 percent of normal. Although last months precipitation was closer to normal it was not considered enough to turn around the present tendency.

Precipitation data and other hydrologic information collected at our dams is summarized in our website http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/waterres/Sum90/pptFY2002.html and http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/waterres/Sum90/mo_stats.html

posted 04-17-2002 12:37 PM               

By Louis Porter
Staff Writer

April 17, 2002

STAMFORD -- Proposed changes in the city's drought regulations would allow Stamford's pools to be filled, but prohibit companies from taking city water to surrounding towns.

The compromise has left Danny Possidento wondering how he's going to make a living.

The owner of Octeau's Swimming Pool Water, Possidento works out of an office in a small trailer near Research Drive decorated with pictures of the five trucks in his fleet.

From early April to the Fourth of July, his company hauls water to fill pools, and Octeau's earns about 70 percent of its yearly income.

About 16 percent of those trucks are headed to Stamford pools. The rest are destined for Darien, New Canaan and especially Greenwich, Possidento said.

"They are basically shutting me down," he said as the sun beat down on the pavement of his truck yard.

The proposal to ban filling pools outside of Stamford with city water is one of a number of drought regulation revisions scheduled to be considered by the Board of Representatives early next month.

But the city is facing tough choices, with reservoirs about 64 percent full at a time of year when it could be months before significant rainfall.

"We're in a drought emergency. We are facing having no water," said Ben Barnes, the city's director of public safety, health and welfare. "I know they don't like it, but we just can't export water right now," he said.

Barnes is right: Pool water haulers don't like it, and they feel that out of all the water users in Stamford, they are being singled out.

"Does that mean that if you live in Darien you can't get your car washed in Stamford?" asked Fred De Leo, owner of the Stamford pool water trucking company that bears his name. "Don't let people go to the Stamford Hospital if they get sick in Greenwich because they are going to use our water."

Barnes agreed that there are other major users of water in Stamford whose products go beyond that city's borders, including Clairol and O&G Industries, a Stamford cement company.

The group of planners and city officials who decided to recommend blocking companies from taking water across city lines also will look at those industries and companies, he said.

The obvious solution would be to have the trucks fill up in the towns whose pools they are filling. But water companies have stopped providing taps where trucks can fill up; instead, they encourage haulers to install their own spigots, Possidento said.

Several years ago, at the suggestion of BHC Co., Possidento put in his own water tap, which cost several thousand dollars. Under the proposed drought rules, he would not be able to use it for most of his clients.

"I don't see how they can restrict me when I have my own facility," Possidento said.

De Leo and Possidento would love to see a water source in Greenwich, they say.

"All they have to do to solve everybody's problems is to take a meter, and put it on a hydrant (in Greenwich) for three months," De Leo said.

But that isn't likely to happen. Though Greenwich allows filling of pools with imported water, the town and Connecticut-American Water Co., which serves it, have prohibited trucks from filling there.

"In a way, they are exporting their problems, and the natural place to export them is to Stamford," Barnes said. Stamford cannot be expected to support Greenwich's swimming habits, he said.

Unless Stamford fails to implement its regulations restricting where pool water haulers can ship their water, or Greenwich and the other towns install taps, Wilton is the nearest place to fill up, Possidento said. The length of the drive, the time spent at the spigot and the number of trucks using it would make using it impossible, he said.

Instead of a ban on trucking water away from the city, Possidento, De Leo and several other people involved in the pool business proposed that they cut the number of days they work. Possidento offered to impound one of his five trucks in a city lot, ensuring that he reduced his water use by 20 percent, he said.

The drought comes on top of a warm winter which reduced the amount of money Possidento made at his other business -- hauling fuel oil.

"They are actually depriving me of making a living. Does that mean in July I don't have to pay my taxes?" Possidento said. The six families of his employees depend on the business, Possidento said.

posted 04-17-2002 12:40 PM               

Dirty cars in driveways, empty swimming pools in backyards and drinking water only on demand at restaurants are a source of frustration for suburban residents.

RUNNING DRY
Most states in the Northeast have banned some uses of water and imposed rationing on others. Reservoirs in Connecticut and New Jersey, for instance, are running at less than 50 percent capacity. In a normal year, they should almost be filled by now.

Experts disagree on the larger causes of this drought.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, last year was the fourth-driest year in the Northeast on record. With the spring months already waning, the region is a full inch of rain behind last year’s total at this time.

Many blame global warming, exacerbated in this region by the density of development. But experts also point to the enormously wasteful habits of Americans when compared with other countries. America uses about 341 billion gallons of water a day, according to government statistics. Of that, just 1 per cent is for drinking.

Paul Simon, the former Democratic U.S. senator from Illinois, says Americans don’t understand that water is a finite resource. “We are not sensitive at all to the growing problem of water shortage,” says Simon, executive director of the Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. His recent book, “Tapped Out,” predicts a coming water shortage worldwide. “Very few American leaders are willing to talk about water as a critical issue,” he says.

CAUSE AND EFFECT
The issue has come home to roost on Demarest’s farm. “My production is going to be down at least 50 per cent and so are my profits,” says Demarest, whose 25-acre farm in Bergen County produces peaches, apples and a range of vegetables. Four years ago, a drought that lasted only one month forced him to purchase 1 million gallons of water for $5,000. “There is a 60 to 65 percent chance of a severe drought this summer,” he says. “And it looks like I’ll be buying some water again.”

Faced with this grim outlook, the temptation to simply sell is huge. Suburbia has been encroaching steadily onto farmland in New Jersey. Here, as elsewhere, property is fetching a good price. The “vultures,’ as the farmers call the real estate developers, are circling in the cloudless sky. So far, Demarest has no plans to sell.
“But,” he says, “I know if I sold the property to developers, I’d make more money out of it than I would make in a lifetime of farming.”

A SLOW DRIP
A few of inches of rain in the last week of March offered some hope for a wetter April. And at this point, that’s what Jan Jorritsma is clinging on to. “We are holding out,” she says of her 100-acre vegetable farm in rural Sussex County. “The ground this month is definitely not as dry and the brooks are starting to rise.”
It is an optimism few share. “Even if the dry spell doesn’t continue, its impact will be felt well into next year,” says Bradley M. Campbell, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Campbell’s office is campaigning for better management of water - a resource that is now being called “blue gold” in water-conscious circles around the world. Campbell says he hopes to reverse the centuries of neglect of New Jersey’s liquid assets.

The state has 6,450 miles of rivers and streams, a 127-mile coastline and 24,000 acres of lakes. But many of the state’s rivers are victims of the industrial revolution; all of them are believed to be either threatened or deteriorating, and development is encroaching on the waterways.

Campbell says the political will to make tough decisions isn’t there yet. For instance, golf courses are notorious water users and in many states only recycled water — water from sewage treatment plants that is deemed clean but not drinkable — can be used to water the greens. “And yet,” says Campbell with exasperation, “of the state’s 200-odd golf courses, only five have moved over to using recycled water.”

BLUE GOLD GOES BLUE CHIP
Those tracking water issues note a sudden rage in commodities markets for once dreary water utilities stock and bond issues. In the past decade, an increasing number of America’s 55,000 community water systems have been privatized.

But the commodification of water is causing grave concern. “Water is a public trust, so fundamental to life that we should not consider it a commodity,” says Sandra Postel, Director of the Global Water Policy Project in Amherst, Mass., where her research focuses on international water issues and strategies.

“The federal governments should be playing a greater role in setting aside water for freshwater ecosystems. The government needs to manage water as a public