ST. PAUL — A Minnesota water expert on Friday, July 9, told state lawmakers that Minnesota's drought conditions are worsening and the state was preparing to ask municipalities to cut back on certain water use.
Jason Moeckel, manager of the Department of Natural Resources Ecological and Water section, said while rain across much of the state on Tuesday, July 6, helped reduce dry conditions, weekly Drought Monitor reports show most of the state was experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions.
And with hot weather on the horizon, Moeckel said state officials were getting ready to introduce additional restrictions to conserve water.
“Looking at the forecast and the projections, we’re not seeing much of an end in sight. We anticipate this is going to continue for some time,” he said.
As of Friday, the state was in a "drought watch" phase but lake and stream levels continued to dwindle and dry conditions persisted or worsened in many regions, Moeckel said. The state had suspended a couple dozen industrial use permits in watersheds hit hard by the dry conditions and expected notices of additional suspensions would be coming soon.
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Moeckel said municipalities, farmers and industrial water users got letters asking them to prepare their drought preparedness plans. And on the tipping point of entering a "drought warning" phase, municipalities would likely be asked to "dramatically cut back on water use" outside of homes, he said.
"With enough severe drought conditions and the forecasts being what they are, as well as the water flows in the Mississippi ... looking at the data just this morning, I believe we're on the cusp of that," Moeckel told members of the Subcommittee on Water Policy.
Regions around the state experienced low precipitation during the spring and early summer, spurring the dry conditions, and the north-central part of Minnesota has reported the driest conditions on the ground.
At the virtual meeting's close, Rep. John Poston, R-Lake Shore, urged members to call on higher powers to bring down precipitation. “Please everybody pray for rain,” Poston said.
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