ADECA offers new drought data tools on website; next Drought Monitoring and Impact Group meeting on Tuesday

MONTGOMERY— As drought conditions continue to impact large areas of the state, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs recently debuted new drought data tools on its website.

ADECA’s Office of Water Resources developed the tools as part of its role as the state’s lead office for drought planning, monitoring and response activities. During dry periods, the office works with local water systems, agricultural producers, reservoir operators and industries to encourage water conservation to mitigate negative impacts associated with declining water levels.

The new tools available at http://water.alabama.gov include:

• A list of all restrictions and drought impacts reported to OWR. This list is continually updated as new information becomes available.

• A Geographical Information Systems data portal that displays streamflow data and statistics for about 70 sites across Alabama. This data is updated every week to reflect changes in statistical summaries.

• Additional resources to help public water systems with drought conservation plans.

“As ADECA’s Office of Water Resources continues to closely monitor the drought situation, these new tools are part of our effort to provide constant updates on drought conditions and impacts throughout the state,” ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. said. “While we can’t make it rain, we will continue to work with our partners to keep them informed of conditions and work to help them mitigate some of the negative impacts.”

The OWR issued an updated advisory on Oct. 18 indicating drought emergencies in 28 counties in north and east Alabama. The OWR issued the advisory after a meeting of the Drought Monitoring and Impact Group, a group of experts which collects and analyzes drought-related data and weather forecasts for updates Alabama drought declaration advisories and changes to Alabama’s input in the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor map. The latest declaration is available here.

The group will conduct its eighth meeting since July at 1 p.m. on Tuesday at the Alabama Center for Commerce in Montgomery.

A connection to the live webinar is available here: https://connect9.uc.att.com/service32/meet/?ExEventID=86728751&CT=M

Contact: Mike Presley or Jennifer Ardis