A statewide drought watch now covers 50 counties in New York, including Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Dutchess.<\/p>\n
The Hochul administration is urging residents to cut back on water use, especially those who rely on private wells, as groundwater and stream levels remain below normal following a dry summer.<\/p>\n
Reports of below-average precipitation over the last several months, as well as diminished stream flows and groundwater levels, prompted the expansion of the drought watch.<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she made the call after consulting the state\u2019s Drought Management Task Force and federal agencies across regions, including the Catskills and Finger Lakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dry conditions experienced by many regions throughout the summer are continuing into September,\u201d she said in a statement Wednesday. \u201cNew York state experts are closely monitoring data and conditions on the ground to safeguard our water supplies and recommend appropriate action, which now includes taking simple steps everyone can do to help conserve water.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are no mandatory restrictions in place under a drought watch, which is the first of four advisory levels issued by the state, followed by warning, emergency and disaster.<\/p>\n
Residents are being asked to voluntarily limit their water use. That includes watering lawns less often, only washing full loads of laundry and taking shorter showers.<\/p>\n
The newly added counties include: Albany, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Columbia, Cayuga, Chemung, Delaware, Dutchess, Fulton, Greene, lower Herkimer, Livingston, Montgomery, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Sullivan, Tompkins, Ulster, Washington, Wyoming and Yates.<\/p>\n
A full list of all counties under the state\u2019s drought watch is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n New York City, which briefly faced its own drought warning<\/a> last fall, lifted its advisory in January after back-to-back months of heavy rainfall and early snow helped replenish reservoirs that supply the city.<\/p>\n