The drought in the Southeast, described by some experts as the most severe on record, is prompting both innovative and restrictive measures from government offices and some area businesses, including agribusiness companies.
With weather experts calling this the worst drought in 100 years, North Carolina Gov. Michael Easley asked residents Monday to stop using water for any purpose “not essential to public health and safety.” The New York Times on Oct. 26 reported that Easley warned he would soon have to declare a state of emergency if voluntary efforts fell short.
One week earlier, Charles Turner, the mayor of Siler City, N.C., did just that, declaring a water shortage emergency and ordering all residents, businesses, and industries to reduce water use by 50 percent or face possible fines and the termination of water service. And in Atlanta, Ga., Mayor Shirley Franklin in early October convened a news conference to implore residents to conserve water.
The Times reported that without rain, the Lower Rocky River Reservoir that supplies Siler City will be completely drained in 80 days. Similarly, Lake Lanier, the water source for the Atlanta area, could be dry in 90-121 days if weather conditions remain dry. The Times also reported that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division is expected to send Gov. Sonny Perdue recommendations on tightening water restrictions in the near term, which may include mandatory cutbacks on commercial and industrial users.
In Greene County, Tennessee’s largest cattle raising county, officials estimate that 80 percent of the ponds have already dried up, prompting cattle producers to liquidate their herds and deflating local livestock prices. Volunteer fire departments have offered their help by hauling water to parched farms from area rivers, and many cattle farms are importing hay from out of state.
Southern States Cooperative, based in Richmond, Va., has responded to the widespread drought by offering special purchase programs throughout its operating territory. These include extended payment terms with no interest for up to six months for fertilizer, lime, seed, feed, and other products. The co-op, which has some 300,000 farmer members and 1,100 retail outlets throughout the Southeast, is also stocking a variety of drought-related products, including transfer pumps, watering systems, and stock tanks.
The statistics that prompted these actions are impressive. The U.S. Drought Monitor on Oct. 16 labeled most of Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina as an “exceptional” drought area, its most severe drought category. Those areas were joined by the northern half of Georgia and parts of southeastern Kentucky and northern South Carolina. Adding areas of extreme drought, the next most severe rating, brings in most of the Carolinas and Kentucky, as well as a section of northern Florida, southern Indiana, and southern Ohio.
The drought has been exacerbated by unseasonably warm weather in the region. Memphis, Tenn., posted a daily record high of 95 degrees on Oct. 8, and Charleston, W. Va., reached or exceeded 90 degrees on five consecutive days from Oct. 4-8, breaking a record that had stood since 1919. Raleigh-Durham, N.C., experienced three days of 90-degree heat from Oct. 7-9, boosting its year-to-date total to 83 days and shattering the previous 90-degree heat record of 72 days set in 1953.
The drought’s effect on crops in the region has become increasingly evident. As of Oct. 14, USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to just 8 percent of the cotton crop in Alabama and South Carolina, along with 15 percent of Tennessee’s acreage, 20 percent in Virginia, and 25 percent in North Carolina. Poor or very poor ratings were given to 70 percent of Alabama’s cotton crop, 61 percent in South Carolina, 51 percent in Tennessee, and 40-41 percent of the acreage in North Carolina and Virginia.