The drought

[Brad Tipton]

The drought is bad, real bad. We need some rain like 40 days and 40 nights worth. I don't know what it has been like elsewhere in TAG but around here it is the worst I have ever seen.

Patty and I made an emergency trip to Gourdneck Cave to investigate the landowners sudden loss of water. This man has relied on the cave for his water for longer than I have been living. Now, with the drought I wondered if maybe the water in the cave was all gone. Surely not! Gourdneck has always been a gully washer year round. Yet in 15 years of caving I have never seen so many springs dry up like they have this year.

When we got to the junction with the stream I was certain there was no water in the cave. Usually when I approach the junction the sound of the stream is there. Not today. I was convinced that Gourdneck was dry. We proceeded further into the cave and did find a small stream trickling, but hardly what anyone expects to encounter when coming to Gourdneck.

At the dam we found the water line broken at a junction. We put it back together and watched. The water line consumed all the water from behind the dam and maybe for the 1st time in hundreds of years there wasn't a body of flowing water in Gourdneck. That is how insignificant the usually mighty stream has become during this dry spell. On the surface I checked the water flow and to my dismay the pipe wasn't moving the water from the cave. I grabbed some tools and went back into the cave while Patty made some calls. I had to seperate the pipe at every junction to get the water to flow back to the entrance but eventually I was successful in getting fresh water to the owners tank. Buddy came by to check on our progress and I told him how low the water was getting in the cave. He estimated that in a few weeks the water supply would be completely gone if the drought continues. After some converation Buddy left to inform the owner of his impending problem. We pulled the rope from the entrance and headed back to Chattanooga. All around us the skies were dark and the thunder boomed, yet no a drop of rain fell. Not one drop.

[L Roebuck]

Thanks for the trip report Brad.

Yes the drought is taking a harsh toll our groundwater supplies here too. We need a heck of a lot of rain to replenish the supplies! With drought conditions such as they are, we currently are taking conservation measure for the water in our home -- if our well stops flowing -- we may be in the same boat as the Gourdneck Cave owner. "High and Dry"

[Brad Tipton]

I have never thought of it before, but I bet the percentage of Tennesseans who get their water from wells and springs is astronomical. Maybe as high as 25%. Lynn I read your posting on the Jack Daniels Distillery. When we were in Bardstown, KY. for my friends wedding we toured all the distilleries. If I remember correctly both Makers Mark, and Jim Beam also get their water from springs as well. If the south doesn't get some considerable rain soon there could be a disasterous shortage in whiskey.........Bar the door Katie! The last of the liquors gone!!

[Azurerana]

1)The whiskey shortage won't happen for 3-5 years...that is, unless you are drinking moonshine.

2) Astonishingly, there is adequate rainfall for the first time in a fair amount of time in the Ozarks. I went to 6 large springs last week, and they all were in pretty good shape.

Here are some US-wide stats on springs and well water use and dependence:

23% of freshwater used
37% of urban households
80% of rural household and stock use
40% of irrigation
6% of industrial needs...

Raindances, chants and rainmakers wanted: apply in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.
But don't panic. We've gone through worse in Dust Bowl times.

[Brad Tipton]

Wow 37% of urban households. That is considerably more than I would have guessed.

[Azurerana]

Municipal wells. Look at all the water towers you see in the countryside. Most really big cities are on rivers. Even seaside cities rarely get their water from the ocean. But there are a whole lot of 10,000-250,000 person cities only on wells.

[L Roebuck]

Here's some additional information. This article says the states we are in "a level D4 drought, the most extreme level charted and the worst in the nation, is centered in northern Alabama and touches parts of Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia."

---

Amid drought, Southeast feels powerful thirst
Farmers suffer, cities restrict water use and consumers turn to conservation

ATLANTA // North and South Carolina are fighting over a river. In Tennessee, springs are drying up, jeopardizing production of Jack Daniels whiskey. The mayor of Los Angeles is asking residents to take shorter showers. And in Georgia, the governor is praying for rain.

More than one-third of the United States is in the grip of a menacing drought that threatens to make its way into Illinois and other Midwestern states before the summer ends.

While much of the West has experienced drought for close to a decade, the latest system is centered over Alabama and extends to much of the Southeast, afflicting Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, North and South Carolina and Virginia as well as parts of Arkansas and West Virginia.

A level D4 drought, the most extreme level charted and the worst in the nation, is centered in northern Alabama and touches parts of Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia. Severe drought conditions are moving north into Kentucky.

"It's one of the worst droughts in living memory in the Southeast," said Doug LeComte, a specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "This happens only about every 50 years or so."

Full Article

[Sharon Faulkner]

The article is correct, we have been experiencing an extreme dry spell in northern Alabama. Water levels are low, lawns are practically non-existent, and farmers have been hauling water for cattle where their ponds have gone dry, which is very extreme for June. Everything is so dry that municiple 4th of July fireworks shows in neighboring cities have been canceled.

For the first time in around ten weeks we have rain this morning in north-central Alabama. We certainly need it.

[Brian Roebuck]

Rain fell here too in middle Tennessee finally. You can feel it being sucked up by the plants and soil though. I can see green in many of them again. It was nice to see the rain falling and hear some thunder. Now if it would only do it again soon we may survive the drought for awhile.

[Sharon Faulkner]

We did not get as much rain as was originally predicted here, but it was good to get what we did. It did help my lawn, though did nothing to raise water levels in local lakes, which is the city's primary water supply. We have no water restrictions in place like some of our neighboring counties....yet.

Last night on the news they reported that up until yesterday, the last measurable rainfall in the immediate area was on April 3.

[L Roebuck]

Tonight we are finally getting a good rain here! And a fair amount of lightning and thunder has been thrown in as an added bonus!

[Brad Tipton]

Residents of Coppinger Cove in the Sequatchie Valley all rely on Dancing Fern Cave for their water. The local news had a story the other night about FEMA delivering the residents of that area a water wagon because the cave stream has dried up. Some areas just can't catch a break, like mine.

Tonight, It rained heavily for over an hour less than half a mile from my house. Here, in my front yard, NOTHING! The wind blew, lightning flashed, trees swayed, thunder crashed........my grass is still dry, brown, DEAD!

[Azurerana]

Brad-- what kind of grass do you have? Most nursery or sod farm grasses are cool-season grasses, and some are even exotics.

It's been baking out here, and I just got in from a verdant, green prairie on the MO-KS border. This prairie has never been plowed (too many rocks) and the prairie grasses which just love this weather are going great guns. The caretaker says she hasn't seen it this good in 15 years. Was about 50 ft. from a bison herd standing around in their big wooly coats in 98 degrees-- unlike cattle, they don't head for shade or water when it's hot.

We had a really good three season green grass until our neighbor planted zoysia, and it started spreading and invading. Now half our lawn is brown and dead too. It's really hard not to go over there with some Roundup. We've got some prairie grass in a couple corners of the yard-- unfortunately, our side yard is a swale, and the prairie grasses drown in it. We've had to water the tomatoes, but other than that, if you plant drought tolerant stuff, you can have your plants and bake 'em, too.

[Brad Tipton]

I am not sure what type it is. My biggest problem is the clay underneath the sod. Water drains off so fast that absorbtion is impossible. Fortunately it rained here for about 30 minutes this evening. First rain in 28 days.

[L Roebuck]

Ummm ... our grass has been the brown crunchy kind all summer.

[jonsdigs]

It poured well over an inch last night here in Gordonsville. I don't think it's enough in time to green things up though.

[L Roebuck]

We need a lot more rain. Last night's news reported our Reservior, Normandy Lake, half empty and dropping.

Reservoir Serving 250K People Half Empty

If any one is interested I have a few photos on Flickr "The Drought, Normandy Lake" taken Oct 13, 2007

[graveleye]

This is hardly scientific, but an observation that I have made. Seems like the indigenous plant and animal life are not suffering much at all from the drought. It's the people who are in danger the most. The trees seem to be ok, as most of the vegetation. Lawns and landscaping plants have suffered a bit for sure. But the earth here seems to be getting enough rain to stay alive. The problem is that there are so many of us humans using the water.

[Brian Roebuck]

Lots of trees died around our area, cattle had little to no hay, trees produced no nuts and squirrels are in a tough food shortage situation, plants were badly stressed all over - corn stalks dried up etc. I don't know about you but people are not the only ones who are in a bind due to the drought - at least here in Tennessee.

[Azurerana]

Another reason not to plant exotic plants, like many hay crops, trees, corn or at least to understand that some years you aren't going to get a crop no matter what. Most of the native trees did not nut this year not due to the drought, but to the late April ice and freeze killing the first buds. Squirrel populations have always been on a boom and bust cycle-- not good for individual squirrels perhaps, but they do eat other things than nuts.

I'm surprised Tennessee is still so dry. We've had more rainy/icy/snowy days in the last three weeks, and are catching up around here. It's something like the 4th snowiest December on record here, and it's not nearly finished.

[madratdan]

I hope your part of the country sees some relief soon. Several years ago our reservoirs dried up too and set some record low levels. Very scary as we went into water ration mode. Today they are full again.......but the real worry lies downstream of us. Lake Powell and Mead are at record level lows right now. A lot of the countries produce relies on that stored water.

Like Azurerana, we are catching up with our recent storms. We had ground blizzards with about an inch of snow yesterday. Hopefully Mother Nature will bring you some water soon. From what I keep seeing on the news......Sharons area has been hit worse than anyone else.