With all of Vermont in a drought, the Agency of Natural Resources is asking Vermonters to report the conditions they are experiencing.
One Vermonter making these reports is Todd Menees, a watershed engineer who has lived in Vermont for 60 years.
About a week ago, he stopped by Broad Brook in Plymouth and was startled by what he saw.
“I’ve never seen the water levels so low,” he said. “I’ve seen droughts before, but not like this.”
He entered his own report in the Conditions Monitoring Observer Reports, describing low water flows and abnormal green algae blooms.
Data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows that water flows across the state are below normal for this time of year.
This past month was the driest August on record in Vermont since 1895.
“Water is all life. Anything, everything that lives, needs water,” Menees said.
He urges Vermonters to pay attention to water, and to submit reports about what they witness.
Reports and photographs from Vermonters detail low water levels across the state, not just in Windsor county.
People are also reporting changes like dry wells and damaged crops.
Vermont’s Drought Task Force uses these reports to evaluate where and how to address drought impacts.
