CONDON’S CORNER—Especially During Drought,
Everyone Should Limit Water Usage
[Published September 24, 2026, by The Daily Progress, the daily newspaper of Charlottesville, Virginia]
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| Water is not only essential for wildlife to drink, but also for critters to keep clean. Here, a Tufted Titmouse takes a bath, but if your water pan is too deep for insects to access for a drink, help them by putting in a rock they can use to safely approach the water. |
CONDON’S CORNER—Especially During Drought, Everyone
Should Limit Water Usage
By the beginning of spring this year in
Western Albemarle (the area where I reside), we were already in a serious
drought. We had gotten only 6.2 inches of rain (according to my rain gauge) through
the end of March—a paltry figure when compared to a normal of 12 inches in
preparation for our growing season.
Time
was when Virginia would average about an inch of rain per week each month, or
48 inches per year. Sadly, that is no longer true, with most years falling
short of that number. Yet the 21st century has seen local meteorologists abandon
the usual 48-inch number, settling instead for a 42-inch yearly rainfall
average for the Charlottesville area.
Though
we have weather records dating back to before the 1900s (courtesy of the
astronomical observatory located atop Observatory Hill [O-hill] on the UVA
campus), TV weather presenters have chosen to focus only on precipitation data
averages over the last 20 years—thus arriving at the 42-inch number by
eschewing a century's worth of O-Hill precipitation info that says the number
should be closer to 48.
As
a result, an unknowing public has been misled into thinking that 42 inches is “normal”
and not a problem, but when the true average annual rainfall is supposed to be
closer to the historical 48 inches, the natural world knows there is a problem,
even if you don’t. Trees in our neighborhoods and forests are dying as most of
us have never seen before in our lives, making abundantly clear how dry this
area has become.
Still,
one would never have known we were facing an extremely serious shortfall in the
amount of moisture we should have received. Despite the continuing
lower-than-normal amounts of precipitation for the months of April and May (not
to mention June and July), people began to put up new pools and prepare garden
soil to receive seeds or transplants.
Was
this a display of baseless optimism or of sheer ignorance regarding how the
environment works? As the drought continued, folks should have realized they
should forego their gardening and instead purchase food from the grocery store
or farm outlets.
Believe
me, as a lifelong gardener, I fully understand how much better garden-fresh
food is on the palette. But when water is in short supply and food is available
elsewhere, it becomes a basic necessity to conserve your water for drinking and
personal hygiene. And while I certainly understand the desire to cool off in a
pool, filling it with water that’s in short supply is probably not the best use
for it.
Even
our new governor exhibited no real concern about the drought, telling folks
they could water their lawns, etc., every other day instead of conserving all water
for the more important functions of personal cleanliness and maintaining a
supply of drinking water. Of course, the governor may well be personally using
reservoir water, which perhaps seems unlikely to her to run out when these deep
“bowls” are full. But multiply one person by the many who are using that
reservoir water, and you should realize that even reservoirs aren’t unlimited.
For
those of us who live in rural areas and depend upon well water, we could easily
fall short of what we need. Wells only have access to the amount of water that
has managed over many years to accumulate far below the ground surface.
Considering that since 2002, Virginia has often fallen short of the usual
annual amount of precipitation its environment requires to sustain itself, even
well water should be conserved as much as possible.
We
are almost through our seventh month of the year and we have had less than 14
inches of rain when, by the end of the month, we should have gotten 28 inches.
Consequently, I’ve watched as the local streams have begun to dry up, some
completely while others are drying back towards their source.
While
it hasn’t been unusual for some of the streams in my local area to completely
dry out whenever local rainfall doesn’t hit the mark, some of the streams I’ve
seen drying up this year are ones that usually don’t do so. In other words, we
are so low on moisture that all of the streams are drying out,
which is a very bad sign, not only for well users, but also for those who
depend upon reservoirs. Deficient rainfall amounts are not going to keep them
filled either. And this isn’t even to mention how tough this is for our
wildlife.
As
our environmental conditions continue to be altered by climate change, it’s
crucial that everyone conserve water, whether you’re obtaining water from a
reservoir or a well. And it would certainly assist our wild critters if you’d
put out a pan of water for them, too.
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