The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued a drought warning for Northern Virginia and the Shenandoah region.
Twelve counties, including Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William, remain under the warning. The warning affects Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Frederick, Page, Warren, and Clarke counties.
A warning means a drought is imminent.
“All Virginians are encouraged to protect water supplies by minimizing water use, monitoring drought conditions, and detecting and repairing leaks,” a news release said.
DEQ also issued a drought watch advisory for the rest of the state on Monday.
Virginia uses four indicators to determine the severity of a drought: precipitation deficits, reservoir storage, stream flows, and groundwater levels.
A lack of rain is to blame for the drought warning designation, along with “rapid declines in surface and groundwater indicators, reported impacts to agriculture, and increase temperatures,” according to a June 20 drought status report from the Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force.
The department is working with governments to ensure ordinances related to water and conservation and drought response plans are followed.
The drought status report also said storage of major water supply reserves across the state are within normal ranges.
The task force meets on the status of the drought on July 1.
Feature image courtesy Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
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