City Implements Water Conservation Measures

Observation by Stephen Payton:

In relation to the recent water emergency LEO post in Nanwalek, the City of Seldovia has issued a "City Water Conservation Notice" on August 20th. The notice doesn't ban any specific water use but requests residents make an effort to use less water by minimizing watering lawns and washing cars and to take shorter showers. It did rain a little bit the 20th and this morning the 21st. The rain was nice but not nearly enough to make any difference on water levels.

Michael Opheim, Environmental Coordinator for the Seldovia Village Tribe, writes:

I just heard about this water conservation notice this morning. I am a bit surprised we have lasted this long actually. The bit of rain we have had I don’t think amounts to much and I did not notice any change in Jakolof Creek yesterday when I checked on it. The water was even lower than when we were last able to check it on Monday. Here is the notice that was posted on the City of Seldovia webpage (see attached documents). Let's hope we get some much needed rain soon.

Comment by LEO Editors:

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 from Seldovia area (attached) show that the snow pack has disappeared. A review of the weather records from Weather Underground 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. LEO Network has also received observation about stream drying which have 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 from 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.