Even with recent rains, NJ could soon face water woes
Reservoir and stream flow levels in New Jersey are currently in the normal range but with more hot weather on tap in the long range forecast, the state climatologist is voicing concern about what could happen in the coming weeks and months.
Dave Robinson, New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University, said only a week and a half ago, right before the Memorial Day long weekend washout, New Jersey was approaching the start of a possible water crisis.
He said while the rain we got at the end of May was beneficial, “you have a multi-week period of hot dry weather and we could slide right back into that abnormally dry category.”
He stressed that doesn’t mean any crisis is imminent but “we are at that point where we’re going to have to monitor very carefully temperature and precipitation in the weeks ahead to make sure we can give everyone a head's up if we’re really starting to slide into that precarious territory.”
Robinson said we’ve had a kind of see-saw rain pattern for the past several months and many parts of the state remain dry, including western Burlington, southern Mercer county and the southern end of the state.
He noted there is also some concern about dry conditions in northwestern parts of the state.
“We’re going into the real water consumption season without any reserves ... without a cushion," he said.
He pointed out in New Jersey fresh water resources are quite finite.
“That’s why it behooves us to always be careful in hw we use our water resources,” he said.