Fake drought warnings/measures

[Mr. Gold]

So now there are "Feel good and suffer like everyone else" drought warnings.

http://www.actonwater.com/conservation/outdoor-water-restrictions


Although our water supply is in a better position than some neighboring communities, we had been considering reducing outdoor water use beyond our current restrictions to help maintain our system for the ongoing dry weather pattern

Hmm.. dry weather pattern. Okay. It's a thing now, it does not go and rain every single week of the summer - so we have a "dry weather pattern".

Ridiculous. Now I need to look over my shoulder when washing the car.. Lucky me I can wash it at work.
Connections my friends.. connections keep you well when living under stupid regimes.

Oh yeah, they forgot to mentions this:

CONCORD, Mass. —An outdoor watering ban has been issued in Concord following a breach into one of the town's water storage tanks.
Concord officials said during a routine visit to one of the town's water storage tanks, they found that a lock to an access hatch was compromised. The storage tank has been isolated from the system. Water samples were collected from the tank to be tested.
As a result of the water system limitation, along with the regional drought conditions, demands have reached the limit of the town's water supply, prompting the town to issue a ban on all non-essential water use.
http://www.wcvb.com/news/outdoor-water-ban-issued-in-the-town-of-concord/41002076

 

[Glockster30]

Most of the state is in a severe drought with about 4% in an extreme drought, which is unprecedented according to the National Weather Service.

[FONT=&quot]Also Thursday, the United States Drought Monitor declared portions of Middlesex and Essex counties -- a total of 3.66 percent of the state -- to be under an "extreme drought," which a National Weather Service meteorologist said is unprecedented. [/FONT]

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.co...ht-effects-emerging-experts-urge-reassessment

 

[garandman]

NOAA says Boston is -7.65" ytd and - 5.83" since June 1.
Worcester - 4.1" since June 1.

Looks like this will persist.

 

[cockpitbob]

Yup, I'm right in the red dot in Glockster's map. The sunny areas of my lawn are dry and crunchy. The Ipswich river has completely stopped flowing. In 7 years I've never seen it that low.

 

[jhblaze1]

So now there are "Feel good and suffer like everyone else" drought warnings.


Hmm.. dry weather pattern. Okay. It's a thing now, it does not go and rain every single week of the summer - so we have a "dry weather pattern".

Ridiculous. Now I need to look over my shoulder when washing the car.. Lucky me I can wash it at work.
Connections my friends.. connections keep you well when living under stupid regimes.

Oh yeah, they forgot to mentions this:

dude we're in a pretty severe drought right now.


My lawn is bright green. I'm watering the shit out of it. I just spent thousands tearing my old lawn out, mostly by hand, and replanting a new one from seed. I'm not just going to watch it die.

This winter we'll get 100+ inches of snizz and everyone will be like "what drought?"

 

[Chet0729]

My buddy that works for the water dept in Worcester said the res hasn't been this low in as long as he can remember. They can catch a break either, had 3 water main breaks in 3 days.

 

[Mr. Gold]

I don't want to sound nasty, I didn't state anything about the drought, I did mention our water district admits "we're fine, but what the heck, let's join the party".

Maybe because I lived in areas where it actually rained 9-10 times during the whole winter, this drought stuff being drummed up makes me wonder.

I'll type the disclaimer from Garandman's image:

Depicts large scale trends based on subjectively derived probabilities, guided by short and long range statistical and dynamical forecasts .

I'd say this: with an undisclosed budget, I'd find you someone who'd derive subjective probabilities, guided by short and long range statistical and dynamical forecasts, that will,
in turn, show you we're about to be flooded.

 

[Mr. Gold]

My buddy that works for the water dept in Worcester said the res hasn't been this low in as long as he can remember. They can catch a break either, had 3 water main breaks in 3 days.

In my non-expert opinion. Massachusetts has no water problems .

In my just-life-experience-opinion: Massachusetts does not even know what water problems are.

Are we hitting a dry patch ? maybe.
I don't like the hysteria around it.

In my humble opinion, It serves somebody real well though.
We all know what happens when "97% of scientists (and the public)" agree on something.

It means someone's going to bank some serious $$$$$$ woo-hoo!

It's just we're not getting the exact amount of water to fall exactly where we want. So we call it "Drought".
(I'm half kidding, but I think you get what I mean).

Again, not disputing less water is coming down from the sky when compared to other recorded periods in time, only what's slowly being made of it.

 

[Mr. Gold]

.

 

[not new guy]

I think they made that first map the color of my lawn on purpose, to mock me.

 

[drgrant]

Things on the whole have been "dry" this summer but nothing compared to CA where everything is always dry as a popcorn fart and catches fire just by looking at it the wrong
way.

-Mike

 

[not new guy]

As I've observed to a few different people recently, it seems like every year they impose water restrictions as soon as it gets warm out, and don't call them off until fall, regardless of the actual drought conditions. That said, this year seems fairly bad, based not only on my lawn but on the water levels at my local ponds, etc.

 

[drgrant]

As I've observed to a few different people recently, it seems like every year they impose water restrictions as soon as it gets warm out, and don't call them off until fall, regardless of the actual drought conditions. That said, this year seems fairly bad, based not only on my lawn but on the water levels at my local ponds, etc.

The best was around 2008? Or so where we had a spring with a MONTH of ****ing rain. I swore it only stopped raining for like 3 days that month. Towns still had water bans posted after that shit during the summer.... I saw the signs go up and I was like "Not sure if serious."

-Mike

 

[TLB]

The best was around 2008? Or so where we had a spring with a MONTH of ****ing rain. I swore it only stopped raining for like 3 days that month. Towns still had water bans posted after that shit during the summer.... I saw the signs go up and I was like "Not sure if serious."

-Mike

That's the problem. They are the little boy who cried wolf. This year is super dry though.

 

[MisterHappy]

It's dry.

Rivers are low:

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?01098530

It's not just lack of rain - everyone uses more water per capita, and there are more people, too.

 

[Kevin_NH]

Southern New Hampshire is really drying up this summer. Beaver ponds around Manchester and Bedford were low in July, now are barely even muddy. I nearly ran over a pitiful looking muddy beaver as he crossed Bedford's River road looking for wetter pastures.

 

[M1911]

I don't want to sound nasty, I didn't state anything about the drought, I did mention our water district admits "we're fine, but what the heck, let's join the party".

Maybe because I lived in areas where it actually rained 9-10 times during the whole winter, this drought stuff being drummed up makes me wonder.

It isn't being "drummed up." We have had very little rainfall this summer and the flow in rivers is very low.

 

[M1911]

As I've observed to a few different people recently, it seems like every year they impose water restrictions as soon as it gets warm out, and don't call them off until fall, regardless of the actual drought conditions. That said, this year seems fairly bad, based not only on my lawn but on the water levels at my local ponds, etc.

Outside of MWRA, most towns in suburban Boston rely on well water. During the summer, water usage skyrockets as people water their lawns. That results in huge pumping increases on the wells, which lowers water tables and reduces flow in rivers. The reduction of flow in rivers affects wildlife. DEP limits the amount of water that towns can pump in order to protect the rivers. As a result, as soon as weather gets warm, the towns have to impose watering restrictions in order to stay within the DEP limits.

But this year's drought is far worse than normal.

 

[ztargetshooter]

I've heard that the well business is booming. If your well drys up and you suck up sediment and air into your well pump, its going to cost you thousands. If your well gets plugged up, something about sediment and veins filling in because you ran it low, it's going to cost you many thousands. I'd rather alter my lawn watering schedule than damage my well. Or even worse, some people are needing new wells dug. $$$$$

 

[Christian]

It appears my town is in some gigantic water sucking vortex because we still haven't had the water ban signs put out that surrounding towns put out every year on the first day of summer.

That, or maybe the surrounding towns have been taken over by Pagans and water ban sign placement has become one of their summer solstice rituals. Those sneaky f***ers.

 

[DPR]

This "drought stuff being drummed up" necessitates a new layer of tin foil. If you continue to water your grass you should consider foiling up the garden hose as well.

 

[CTpatriot]

no drought here, couple days ago I popped my well cover and lowered a bobber on fishing line and it slacked at 17 feet, been like that for forever and I can pump water continuously at 40 gallons a minute if I needed to. Not many neighbors around in this high valley to suck out all the water and I have never seen one water a lawn.

 

[HiCap]

I work in public water. I run massive multi-million gallon per day wells and treatment plants. out wells are low. and its because of people who water their lawns all the time and wash their pretty cars. You wont be talking like that when the wells in your town/district get too low and the wells collapse and the town needs an override to replace them.

 

[cockpitbob]

I work in public water. I run massive multi-million gallon per day wells and treatment plants. out wells are low. and its because of people who water their lawns all the time and wash their pretty cars. You wont be talking like that when the wells in your town/district get too low and the wells collapse and the town needs an override to replace them.

Interesting! I hadn't thought about low wells collapsing. That's a real risk? Educate me please.
WRT overrides, my damned town approves every override it sees

 

[Christian]

I work in public water. I run massive multi-million gallon per day wells and treatment plants. out wells are low. and its because of people who water their lawns all the time and wash their pretty cars. You wont be talking like that when the wells in your town/district get too low and the wells collapse and the town needs an override to replace them.

I've got family out your way and even though it's been awhile since I've visited everyone out there seemed to have perfect fairway quality lawns.

We're pretty lucky here in my town, we have at least five water towers fed by wells that come to mind and in the past few years the town has purchased more sites to be tapped into in the future if needed. We also have heaps of spring fed lakes, so much so we supply a few other towns/cities with some of our surface water.

 

[mwalsh9152]

Ive been busy as hell this summer, a few benefits Ive seen are that I dont often have to mow the lawn....the front is completely brown. And it seems to be keeping the skeeter population in check.

 

[Bando_Red]

As many have pointed out its the problem of the town governments anyway because every year they put up those stupid "drought warning: only water your lawn on alternating wednesdays if your house number is odd and you were born in a leap year" bullshit signs regardless of the torrential downpours we got. We do have an actual drought going on now and everyone's ignoring it cuz how is that different than any other year if the towns are to believed? Can't get out of this hellhole fast enough.

 

[JamesD]

I work in public water. I run massive multi-million gallon per day wells and treatment plants. out wells are low. and its because of people who water their lawns all the time and wash their pretty cars. You wont be talking like that when the wells in your town/district get too low and the wells collapse and the town needs an override to replace them.

That's not what you said last month.

 

[M1911]

As many have pointed out its the problem of the town governments anyway because every year they put up those stupid "drought warning: only water your lawn on alternating wednesdays if your house number is odd and you were born in a leap year" bullshit signs regardless of the torrential downpours we got. We do have an actual drought going on now and everyone's ignoring it cuz how is that different than any other year if the towns are to believed? Can't get out of this hellhole fast enough.

It is not BS. They are limited in the amount they are allowed to pump by the Department of Environmental Conservation.