We are blessed.
Not only do we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world; our home is typically devoid of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, sinkholes, extreme heat, extreme cold and many other challenges our fellow Americans live with as a matter of course.
Most years, our biggest natural concern is a major storm or two that complicates life for a few days. Many years we don’t even get that. We’ll take it.
Still, we’re not immune, and we can’t help but notice it’s been a little dry lately. It usually is this time of year, but it’s not every year the state declares we’re in a drought. We’re in comparatively good shape of course, but it is a problem. Temperatures are high, the ground is hard, lawns are dying, and increasingly, local wells are running dry.
Out in California’s Central Valley there are entire communities without water. We are not there by a long shot, thank God, but we’ve heard enough to be concerned when official sources start throwing around phrases like “severe drought conditions.”
According to the state, a drought is defined as a 12 month period during which precipitation is less than 85% of “normal,” as defined by the National Weather Service. In Maine, the weather service has determined 44 inches is our normal.
According to the Maine Emergency Management Agency, drought is the number one risk to our state’s $1.2 billion agricultural economy and its 22,000 jobs. The same source reports approximately 45% of Mainers rely on shallow, dug wells, which are obviously at risk during a prolonged dry period.
We have seen this before. The most severe droughts in recorded Maine history occurred in the middle of the last century. The last severe one was only barely 20 years ago, occurring 2000-2003 and costing Maine farmers, it is estimated, north of $32 million.
Being at the mercy of the elements, there is not a heck of a lot we can do, but we are not helpless. There are things we can and should do to help ourselves and the first, easiest thing we can all do is cut back on water consumption.
One of the first easiest ways to do that is keep the showers brief. Every minute the shower runs, more than two gallons of water goes down the drain. By the same measure, turning the tap off when you can while brushing, shaving, or washing your hands, can make a huge difference.
Other tips just make financial sense: fix leaky taps, install water saving accessories, only use the dishwasher, or the washing machine when they’re fully loaded. A little bit here and there and you and your shallow, dug well, might make it through this stretch just fine.
This being Maine, one thing we know for sure, the weather will change, likely quickly, almost certainly inconveniently, but it will change. When the rain comes, that will be change for the better.
