Rain boosts Middletown reservoirs to months-high levels

Six-point-six-four inches of rain over two days pushed Middletown’s three municipal reservoirs up by more than a half foot, giving the city a visible boost after months of lower water levels. The Monhegan Reservoir rose eight inches, the Highland Reservoir rose five inches and the Shawangunk Reservoir rose four inches, a gain that matters most in midsummer when household use, lawn watering and other demand typically climb.

City Department of Public Works Commissioner Jacob Tawill said the surge was notable because Middletown had been running in a precipitation deficit for the last few months, taking in about two inches of rain in months when the average is closer to five. The recent storm pattern left the reservoirs at heights the city had not seen for months, a change Tawill said was worth highlighting publicly because residents usually notice reservoir recovery only when drought or supply concerns are already in view.

The larger near-term question is not whether the rain helped, but whether it changes the city’s risk of conservation measures. Middletown’s drought page says Orange County remained in a New York State Drought Watch, the first of four drought stages before warning, emergency and disaster. Under that designation, no mandatory restrictions are in place, but residents are still urged to conserve water. New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation says drought status is based on a State Drought Index that weighs stream flows, precipitation, lake and reservoir storage, groundwater levels, water use, the length of dry periods and the season.

That context makes the rebound meaningful, but not final. The state’s own drought history shows that long dry spells can return, and DEC notes that New York’s last severe droughts came in the mid-1960s and again in the early and mid-1980s. Middletown’s supply system is built around three main reservoirs, Shawangunk, Highland and Monhegan, with a watershed of about 1,500 acres across Mount Hope and Wallkill.

The city has also been investing in that system for the long haul. In 2023, Middletown planned about $5 million in upgrades to century-old reservoir dams to meet newer DEC standards, a reminder that the city’s water resilience depends on both rainfall and infrastructure. For now, the storm gave Middletown a needed refill and some extra room heading deeper into summer, even as Orange County remains under the state’s lowest drought alert.