Low rainfall deepens drought across state

Record-low rainfall in August has worsened drought conditions across Maine, the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday.

Water conditions are now similar to those during the late summer and early fall last year, according to the report.

Stream flows were at all-time record lows last month at two reported sites, the Saco River at Cornish and Carrabassett River near North Anson. Groundwater levels also are below normal throughout most of the state.

A wet spring that caused problems for some farmers became a distant memory last month, which was estimated to be the driest August on record statewide, according to Tom Hawley, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service.

And there’s no major relief in store. The National Weather Service’s forecast for this September is for below-normal precipitation.

Earlier this year, more than 1,500 families reported that their wells went dry after the driest year on record in Maine. It was bad enough for the governor to seek a federal disaster declaration.

The number of people calling to report dry wells tapered off early in the summer, but two to three people are now calling each day, said Lynette Miller of the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

The state needs either several months of heavier than normal rain or a tropical storm to lift it out of the drought, officials said.