Droughtwatch: Statewide precipitation for the previous water year (October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007) was below normal

August saw new record low daily streamflows at 13 stations with 20 or more years of record in Virginia. The long-range monthly climatologic outlook calls for above normal temperatures statewide and below normal precipitation for the eastern half of the Commonwealth through February of 2008.  The long-range seasonal outlook calls for above normal temperatures for the entire Commonwealth through April 2008.  The long-range seasonal outlook calls for equal chances of below normal, normal and above normal precipitation for the area west of the Blue Ridge and below normal precipitation for the remainder of the Commonwealth through April 2008. 

Drought Monitoring Task Force Report August 25, 2008    

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New Publication: Private Domestic-Well Characteristics and the Distribution of Domestic Withdrawals among Aquifers in the Virginia Coastal Plain

A comprehensive analysis of private domestic wells and self-supplied domestic ground-water withdrawals in the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province of Virginia indicates that the magnitudes of these withdrawals and their effects on local and regional ground-water flow are larger and more important than previous reports have stated. Self-supplied ground-water withdrawals for domestic use in the Virginia Coastal Plain are estimated to be approximately 40 million gallons per day, or about 28 percent of all ground-water withdrawals in the area. Contrary to widely held assumptions, only 22 percent of domestic wells in the Virginia Coastal Plain are completed in the shallow, unconfined surficial aquifer to which the water is returned directly by home septic systems. Fifty-three percent of the wells are completed in six deeper confined aquifers, and the remaining 25 percent are completed in the Potomac aquifer and confining zone, the deepest units in the confined system. Assuming an equal rate of withdrawal per well, 78 percent of domestic ground-water withdrawal, or about 30 million gallons per day, is removed from the regional confined ground-water system.