State officially lifts drought warning for North Jersey

North Jersey’s longest drought in 15 years is officially over – just in time for the spring and summer lawn sprinkler season.

The state lifted the drought warning advisory for Bergen, Passaic, Morris and nine other northern counties Wednesday after weeks of snow and rain helped refill drinking water reservoirs, replenish groundwater and improve stream flows.

The drought warnings, issued in October, were the state’s first since 2001. The decision had allowed the state Department of Environmental Protection to order water utilities to move water from one part of the state to another to alleviate areas with particularly depleted reserves.

“The return of soaking and well-timed precipitation over the winter and early spring has resulted in steady improvements in our drought indicators for most of the state,” Bob Martin, the state DEP commissioner, said in lifting the warnings. “In particular, storage levels in the major reservoir systems that serve the densely populated portions of northern New Jersey are at full capacity entering the time of year when water demand peaks.”

The improved conditions are due in large measure to a shift in the higher atmospheric winds called the jet stream.

For much of the winter, the jet stream had a southern dip to it over the western United States. That allowed storms to roll up from the Gulf of Mexico into the Midwest, largely bypassing our region. And storms that did venture near were still far enough west that they couldn’t draw much moisture from the Atlantic Ocean.

But in recent weeks, the jet stream shifted, with a southerly dip over the eastern United States. That has shoved storms farther east, into our area. And because they have been farther east, barreling up the coast, the storms have been able to tap into Atlantic moisture, generating more snow and rain for North Jersey, according to David Robinson, the state climatologist and a Rutgers University professor.

Most of the rainfall has come in the past 30 days. In that time, Bergen County has received 6.7 inches of precipitation, which is 2.7 inches above normal for the period. Passaic and Morris counties have had similar surpluses.

As a result, the Passaic River at Little Falls is running at more than twice the historical average for this time of year. During the middle of the drought last fall, by comparison, it was running at 96 percent below average. The Ramapo River at Pompton Lakes is also flowing at double its typical level, while last fall it was at 79 percent below the historical average.

The region’s drinking water reservoirs, which are relatively small and therefore prone to drain and fill, have rebounded as well.

The Wanaque Reservoir and its backup, the Monksville Reservoir, which provide water to more than 100 municipalities in North Jersey, from Alpine to Newark, were at 46 percent of capacity in mid-October, as satellite imagery showed.

Levels got so low that strips of formerly submerged roadways and the foundations of 19th-century houses became visible. Now, the reservoirs are full.

Similarly, in October the Oradell and two other reservoirs along the Hackensack River operated by Suez, which provide water for 800,000 people in Bergen and Hudson counties, were down to a combined 44 percent of capacity.

Today, the Suez reservoirs are full.

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“Water levels are increasing across the state in response to recent rains,” said Jeffrey L. Hoffman, the state geologist. “Reservoirs, with the exception of Round Valley and Spruce Run, are more than 90 percent full. Stream flows and groundwater levels are trending upward, which is a good sign.”

Round Valley and Spruce Run reservoirs in central New Jersey both remain below normal capacity. Round Valley is at about 72 percent capacity and Spruce Run is at about 69 percent capacity, because of less precipitation in that area over the winter.

The Round Valley and Spruce Run reservoirs, operated by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, is typically at 94 percent this time of year.

As a result, Hunterdon County and Somerset County, which are primarily served by these reservoirs, remain under a drought warning.