Drought Devastates Central Mass

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Ashley Klann, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

High temperatures and low precipitation have caused low water levels.

A severe drought is currently causing hardships for residents and the organizations that oversee forested areas in the Worcester area. Vernal pools, which are a crucial habitat in Central Mass. have never been so low, so early.

Although the drought has been short-term, local meteorologist for the National Weather Service, Alan Dunham says that there are no signs to indicate substantial improvements. Tower Hill Botanical Garden, Mass. Audubon, and the Greater Worcester Land Trust report that vernal pools, usually full of snow melt, are vanishing and local nurseries and gardens are turning on their sprinklers much earlier than usual.

What Is Affected

Plants, lawns, and local forested areas have seen a significant lack of rain lately, and the best thing residents can do to combat the drought is to water, water, water.

“Short term, there’s not much else you can do but water, and a lot of people I’ve noticed aren’t doing that because they’re not in that mindset. They see that as something you only have to do in the summer, but plants need water. If they can, people should water,” said Michael Arnum, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Tower Hill Botanical Garden.

“Obviously the lack of rain and snow in the winter has made things extremely dry. About a month ago it was about up to 80 some degrees which pushed plant material to flower early, then it got cold again. It killed some of the flowering buds you would normally be seeing now,” said Brent Besse, Vice President of Rutland Nurseries.

Besse said, “Some of the new material coming in has had to be dug earlier than normal which leaves it up to us for earlier storage. It’s pushing everything early in the warm weather which is making us turn on irrigation systems on sooner." Besse also foresees water bans, which also impact their business.

“People sometimes hold off on planting things when there are water bans. If the drought continues, existing plant material will become very stressed, even if it has been planted for many years. When there’s a watering ban, even mature plants start to become compromised,” he said.

Unfortunately, residents aren’t the only ones suffering. Local habitats are drying up, negatively impacting animals and mating amphibians.

According to Besse, the local nursery has faced some unexpected time changes with the rising temperatures and lack of rain. Sprinklers and irrigation systems have gone on early, and lawns and turf are all extremely dry.

Not Just Your Lawn

Across the board, the area has seen significantly low levels in vernal pools – areas that provide a much needed habitat for breeding amphibians and other animals needing a drink. Officials say they’ve never seen them this low so early.

“All of our spring vernal pools are dried up already. They’re normally full of water,” Arnum said. “We usually do some controlled burn sessions, but it’s too dangerous at this point.”

“This is a big time of year for vernal pools and related amphibians. They breed in March and April, and those pools are really their breeding habitat,” said Tom Lautzenheiser, Central Western Regional Scientist at Mass. Audubon. “In terms of other impacts, vernal pools are an important water supply for a lot of animals through the spring and summer from deer and moose down to raccoons. If the drought continues, we could see some impacts on animals being water stressed.”

“I’ve never seen vernal pools dry this early,” he added.

Record Dryness

These low levels of water are definitely unusual, according to local officials, many of whom have never seen these conditions this time of year.

“We’ve had historically low rainfall for the year so far, and now with the high temperatures, we’re seeing conditions now in mid-April that are more similar to conditions we’d expect in June, but without the normal rainfall backing it up,” Lautzenheiser said.

“It’s been a tough year. Lots of rivers are running low, and it’s pretty significant. The area received about an inch of rain in March. Normally we would expect 3-4 inches at least. The last of snow melt would also usually be a factor,” said Tyler Maikath, Land Steward at the Greater Worcester Land Trust (GWLT) who is serving as a part of AmeriCorps.

The GWLT has a hand in the conservation of about 2,000 acres of land in the area and have been paying close attention to the significantly low levels of precipitation, especially given the number of wildfires they have faced recently.

“It’s highly unusual for Central Mass. to have fire weather warnings in April. That’s something I can’t remember ever happening before,” he added.

The Outlook

While rain will come this weekend, Dunham says that there are no long term significant signs of improved conditions. In the 8-14 day forecast precipitation levels are expected to remain lower than average. Lautzenheiser also added that with trees leafing out, transpiration will increase and ground water levels will drop quickly.

“For the rest of April and May, there are forecasted above normal temperatures and equal likelihood of above or below precipitation,” Dunham said. “It’s certainly not a normal spring. Airport for the year is down 6.75 inches of rain.”

Although this three month drought has only been short term to date, he says that if it continues, harsher condition would occur.

“Surface water is taking a hit, running below normal levels, and ground water is also below normal. If this were to continue groundwater would start to be affected. Now, through May and June, there’s no real indicator one way or another. It’s something we’ll have to watch,” he said.

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