For Immediate Release

September 30, 1999

DRBC LIFTS DROUGHT EMERGENCY ACTIONS

(WEST TRENTON, N.J.) - Two major storms that unleashed heavy rains along the East Coast and recent showers prompted the Delaware River Basin Commission to lift drought emergency actions it had put in place last month.

The Commission took the action today at its regular monthly meeting, noting that storage in three large water supply reservoirs in the upper basin had risen by 23 billion gallons since mid-September. Streamflows also have rebounded and ground water levels, some at record lows during the summer, are showing signs of recovery.

The heavy rains also flushed the "salt front" in the Delaware River downstream to just north of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which is eight miles below its normal location for this time of year. If the salty water migrates too far upstream it can cause corrosion problems for industries which use Delaware River water and increase costs for water treatment.

Storage in the three upper basin reservoirs (Pepacton, Neversink, and Cannonsville) stood at 156 billion gallons (bg) today. The reservoirs have a combined storage capacity of 271 bg. Although the recent rainfall has helped considerably, levels in the reservoirs are still 13 percent below normal for this time of year.

Commission officials urged the basin's citizens to continue to conserve water (on a voluntary basis), noting that water conservation should be a life-long-habit.

Lifted today by the commission were these emergency actions that had been adopted August 18: