Despite dry days, state water levels holding steady

AUGUSTA – The rivers and streams in some parts of the state are nothing but a trickle of water and some wells are dry, but it appears the state is not yet drought stricken.

“It’s definitely been very dry, but we have had above average water levels for the last couple of years,” Martha Nielsen, an hydrologist with the United States Geological Survey in Augusta, said Wednesday. Those above average water levels have helped this year’s situation, she said.

The situation, however, could change very quickly if the state gets little rain this fall. “It’s something we’re definitely looking at,” Nielsen said.

“Things [streams, rivers and USGS wells] are going down, absolutely,” Nielsen said. Most of the 20 wells monitored by the USGS in the state are either average or below average, she said. The wells in sand-gravel aquifer are still relatively high but the bedrock wells are lower than they’ve been in the past few years at this time, she noted.

The dry spell has provided some extra business for some well drillers. Dick Dunham, of Merl Dunham Inc. of Corinth, said Wednesday he has fielded “quite a few” calls from people with dry or near dry wells.

These customers either want a new artesian well dug or their drilled well dug deeper to reach a different water table, according to Dunham.

While the dry wells are now sporadic in the region, Dunham said the problem could worsen without significant rainfall this season.

Nielsen said a few of the monitoring wells her agency maintains are getting as low as they were in 2002 when the state had a severe drought.

If the state has a dry fall, Nielsen said she wouldn’t be surprised to find that more homeowners will be faced with dry wells.