Drought declared in tri-counties; Fort Mill rainfall significantly lower than average
A press release by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has declared drought conditions across the state, including York, Chester and Lancaster.
Dry conditions have worsened over the fall months.
Recent rain has not helped these conditions as the moisture quickly dries out; high rain fall is required to recover.
From October to November, Fort Mill was named as one of the places most effected. Hope Mizzell, S.C. State Climatologist, said the town only received 0.62 inch of rainfall for the month.
Fort Mill’s average rain fall in May, said to be the driest month in the area, is historically an average of 2.9 inches.
The Catawba-Wateree River Basin, which supplies water to the tri-county area, “has had very little rainfall over the past few months,” the press release said. Right now, the basin is in “normal conditions,” but the South Carolina Drought Response Committee is continuing to meet and monitor the situation.
If conditions continue as they are, the committee will may need to adjust the flow of water for hydroelectric generation. Significant rainfall will be needed to avoid this situation, Ed Bruce, Duke Energy’s lead engineer, said.
According to the press release, Tuesday’s SCDRC meeting determined that these counties are in an “incipient” drought.
“Incipient” is the first level of drought, followed by moderate, severe, and extreme. In June, SCDNR declared an incipient drought in nine counties -- that number is now 34.
Drought causing wildfires across state
The meeting was called over concerns about wildfires. In November, the press release said, the number of wildfires was “almost twice the 10-year average.” In the first week of September, S.C. has already seen more than 1.5 times the 10-year average of wild fires.
There are currently 18 contained fires in S.C., meaning the spread has been stopped, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission. There is one fire that’s not contained. It’s in the Pee Dee region of the state.
Contained fires still can take weeks or months to be completely extinguished.
These wildfires are caused by dry soil, leaves and debris on the forest floor.
What should locals do?
The SCFC says people carelessly burning debris cause more than 40% of wildfires. People should note that the best time to burn is after a soaking rain, or when the humidity is above 30%.
While S.C. continues to experience little rain, this should be considered before burning anything outdoors.
A complete guide to outdoor burning safely can be found at state.sc.us/forest/fthink.pdf.
At this time, Mizzell says locals do not need to take any measures to conserve water.
Lack of rainfall will not impact construction on the Catawba River, Benjamin Williams, a representative for Duke Energy said. Construction in Great Falls in Chester County, where Duke is currently building two channels for whitewater activities, will not be interrupted.
The SCDRC will continue to meet and monitor the situation.
