Upper Valley Drought Persists, Northern Sullivan County Remains Severely Dry

To recover from a drought that started last summer, New Hampshire would need double the amount of rain it normally gets this spring. For northern Sullivan County, that gap between where things stand and where they need to be is stark: at least a third of the Granite State, including portions of southern Grafton and northern Sullivan counties in the Upper Valley, remains in a "severe" drought, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor map released March 19.

The severe ranking is the third level on a five-point scale; the rest of both counties are a level below, in a "moderate" drought, along with portions of Orange and Windsor counties in Vermont.

"Not only do we need to get the 4 inches per month we normally get, but in order to make up the deficit, we need another 4 inches a month and we need that for a couple of months," said Ted Diers, assistant director of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services' Water Division. "That's pretty significant," Diers said. "Why we're still in a drought is because we have such a deep hole to climb out of," he added, warning that "if we don't get that, the summer is shaping up to look pretty rough because we're starting at such a steep deficit."

The winter offered little help. The majority of the snow that fell this year in northern New England was fluffier and had a lower water content, which did not do enough to make up for the precipitation deficit, according to Seth Kutikoff, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Burlington branch. "When it comes to the snow melt in relation to the drought conditions, the amount of contribution of the snowmelt to the area's waterways would be a little bit less if it was a wetter snow," Kutikoff said. He noted that heavy spring rain events could still change the outlook: "It will depend on the spring rainfall. If we have some heavy rain events, it would change things completely."

This winter, Grafton and Sullivan counties received 6 to 8 inches of snow per month, which is 2 to 3 inches less than historic averages. Portions of those counties have a precipitation deficit of 9 to 15 inches over the last nine months.

The drought's severity eased somewhat from its peak last fall. Last September, nearly all of Grafton County and portions of Sullivan County, along with parts of Orange and Windsor counties, were under an "extreme" drought, one classification level above where much of the region sits today.

The real-world consequences have been tangible across Sullivan County and the broader Upper Valley. Todd Lucas, of Newport-based Robert Lucas and Sons Well Drilling, looked back on last summer, when the family business fielded dozens of calls from homeowners whose water pressure dropped or had water run out completely. The business drilled an additional 20 to 30 wells as surface wells dried up. Those calls tapered off last fall, but if drought conditions continue, Lucas said he expects them to pick up again.

Lebanon, the region's largest city, has kept its drought restrictions active through the winter. The city, which gets its drinking water from the Mascoma River, still has mandatory water restrictions in place covering lawn and landscape watering as well as residential vehicle washing, Lebanon Public Works Director Jay Cairelli confirmed. If the drought continues into mid-May, city officials will remind residents of those restrictions.