Drought Causes Water Emergency

Observation by Priscilla Evans:

Nanwalek was in an emergency drought, we had to have water flown in for 60 households. Our dam was drying out for the last week, they shut the water off at 9 pm and turned it on at 9 am. We finally got rain today after a month without it. So hopefully this will take care of the problem for a while. That's what has been happening in Nanwalek. Shared during the August 2019 LEO Network Webinar

Comments from LEO Editors:

Thank you Priscilla for sharing your observation. Southcentral Alaska is in a drought and communities that rely on snow pack and rain water for providing community water are at risk this year for shortages. Satellite images (attached) from the Nanwalek area show that the snow pack has disappeared. A review of the weather records from Weather Underground (we use data from neighboring Seldovia here) reveal that the total precipitation June 1 to August 20, was only 1.01 inches, far below the average of over six inches for June - August. Note a 40% chance of rain on the 27th in the long-term forecast. LEO Network has also received observation about stream drying which has prevented a salmon run in Jakolof Creek and killed endemic fish species (see attached post). LEO Network is reaching out to members in the region seeking observations about community water supply and impacts on other freshwater resources. Mike Brubaker

Rick Thoman, Climate Scientist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at University of Alaska Fairbanks, writes:

Persistent high pressure over the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay has kept most storms well away from the lower Kenai Peninsula. At Homer, total rainfall June 1-August 16 was only 53% of normal, making this the driest since 2004.