Gov. Matt Meyer lifts the state’s drought watch after 10 months of drought conditions.
The lift was recommended by the state's Water Supply Coordinating Council, which confirmed that July’s rainfall level was almost an inch above average for that time.
Those rainfall levels are also further bolstered by July reports from the State Climate Office, which concluded that even with high evapotranspiration rates, most locations still have a water balance surplus for the month of July.
DNREC Secretary Greg Patterson noted "“The continuous monitoring that has gone on since last fall has shown conditions gradually improve as a result of constant rainfall this year, which finally made up for the very long dry spell people may remember from last summer. While water conservation is always a good practice, we are finally out of the indicators of a possible drought.”.
The drought watch was ordered by then Gov. John Carney in late October 2024, after a severe lack of rainfall over six months, leaving water reserves and wells without the end-of-summer recharge that relies on seasonable rainfall.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Don Clifton also chimed in, "Recent rainfall events have helped recharge the soil and groundwater reserves we rely on for agriculture,” he said. “That has put our farmers in a much better position as we head into the height of the growing season.” he said.
