Northern, eastern Maine out of drought condition

PORTLAND – A wet spring has ended the drought in northern and eastern Maine, but groundwater levels remain low in the central and southern parts of the state, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In northern Maine this year, precipitation has been normal or slightly above normal, said Mark Bloomer of the National Weather Service.

The rain and snow have replenished groundwater supplies in northern and eastern areas to nondrought levels, said Joe Nielsen of the geological survey. But groundwater is still below normal in other areas, he said, and rain in late spring, unless far above normal, tends not to affect groundwater supplies.

Last month in Sanford, officials recorded an all-time low groundwater level for May, Nielsen said, and the problem remains most acute in far southern Maine.

It is too early to say whether groundwater levels in southern areas will be dangerously low this summer, as they were last year, he added.