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Following the recommendation of the RWSA, Albemarle County today issued a drought warning declaration, the county has announced in a press release this afternoon. The county cites “especially dry conditions in the last 6 out of 7 months causing dangerously low water levels.” With this comes restrictions, including washing cars at home, washing outdoor surfaces, watering outside vegetation with anything other than a watering can, running an ornamental fountain, filling swimming pools and, bizarrely, serving water to restaurant patrons unless they request it.

Let’s hope we don’t end up going down the same absurd path we went down in 2002, with drinking fountains and bathroom sinks being turned off. Drinking and hygiene are the two essential functions for which water is conserved at times like this. There’s no sense in restricting those.

My stream disappeared a couple of weeks ago. I’ve lived here for a couple of years now, and this is the first time that the little brook has simply disappeared. For the second summer running my wife and I have a good-sized little garden, and this year I’ve had to water it every day — very rarely does enough fall out the sky to do the trick.

Josh Barney wrote in the Daily Progress a couple of days ago that the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority is starting to get worried — water usage is way up, and the rain’s just not coming. The reservoirs were hit for a record 14.3 million gallons on Friday, while they’re down to storing 82% of capacity. Neither is any reason to panic, assuming that we get a nice rainy fall.

I’ve been keeping an eye on stream flow levels, using the USGS’ National Water Information System, and they just keep dropping. The Rivanna is down to 1.1³ ft/sec discharge, compared to the 12-year mean for this date of 29³ ft/sec. The last time that it was this low was 2002, when we were in the throes of drought. The Moormans is even worse: 0.36³ ft/sec, the lowest it’s been this time of year in the eighteen years it’s been monitored. Normally it’d be 14³ ft/sec this time of year. Ground water levels keep dropping — it was at 29.75 feet a month ago, and now it’s at 31.25 feet. It’s once it starts dropping below people’s wells that there’s trouble.

The good news is that there’s a hurricane on the way. If we’re lucky, Hurricane Ernesto will weaken over land and dump a few inches of rain on us, which will help to recharge the reservoir. It’ll take a lot more than that over a much longer period to recharge our ground water, but it’d be a start.

08/30 Update: 6″-12″ of rain is forecast to fall on Friday, the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto. I believe I’ll be taking credit for this reversal for fortune.

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority declared a Drought Watch yesterday, prompting the city to voluntarily institute its own conservation measures, presumably more to set an example than anything else. The RWSA’s reservoir level report for today (Word file) indicates that the reservoirs are just about full, but the fear of the 2002 drought must loom large in the collective mind of the city.

The talk around town is that the nasty storm that just pushed through town (which didn’t touch me, here in the Southwest Mountains, oddly) dropped a few tornadoes along the way. Sarah Barry has a story on the Progress‘ website about the storm which repeats the existence of tornado sightings.

In the past few years, C’ville has become tornado country. In 2003, 2002, and 2000, we had tornadoes, which is quite a difference from the years previous.

Did anybody spot anything?

07/06 Update: Via cvilleblogs.com, I see that Bill Emory has some great photos of the aftermath.

It’s official: as of today, there have been 72.88 inches of precipitation in Charlottesville in 2003, which is the greatest amount in the history of observations at McCormick Observatory. Our other record is that it has rained during 158 days thus far this year, putting us well beyond the old record of 146. Thanks to Ricky Patterson of McCormick Observatory for the news.

Lars writes: Wintergreen will open this Friday (December the 5th). Night skiing doesn’t begin until Friday, December 12. The forecast calls for snow on Friday and Saturday with significant accumulation. How serendipitous!

I haven’t used my skis in years. Maybe all of us should take a big, dysfunctional field trip and go skiing together.

24 hours after Hurricane Isabel, Central Virginia is a mess. Outside of immediate downtown Charlottesville and a smattering of places nearby, electricity hasn’t been available for miles around for nearly 12 hours. Looking at Charlottesville from above tonight, it is completely dark, save for a dim glow from Main St. 1.4 million households in Virginia are without power, and Dominion Virginia Power says that the time frame for restoring power is “long-range”. Power crews say that there are hundreds of downed lines and poles in Charlottesville and Albemarle alone. Dominion is describing this as “the worst storm in the company’s 100-year history.” They’ve asked that customers notify them of damage by calling 1-888-667-3000. Of course, nobody in Charlottesville or Albemarle is able to read this, so I’m pretty much just talking to myself here.

The National Weather Service reports that there is a tornado warning for Charlottesville and Albemarle. This means that a tornado has been sighted in the area or seen on radar. Has anybody seen anything? What’s the weather situation around the area? For reference, our last tornado was in June of 2002, running through the Free Union area. 3:04pm Update: As of 3:02pm now been downgraded to a severe thunderstorm, with warnings of 60mph wind gusts and 1.5″ hail. A tornado watch is still in effect, and will be until 8pm.

Two days after the city did so, the county has lifted their water restrictions. Albemarle had announced their intentions to remove them when the reservoirs were at or above 85% for one week, which they were as of Wednesday. The reservoir now stands at 91% capacity, with more rain in the forecast.

As of this morning, the Albemarle County Service Authority indicates that the reservoir is at 87% capacity. Should it remain at 85% come Wednesday, November 20th, Charlottesville will likely lift its restrictions. Gov. Mark Warner yesterday lifted the August 30th statewide ban on the washing of cars and watering of lawns, reports the Progress.

The Albemarle County Service Authority has lifted their ban on car washes and power washers, WINA reports. The reservoir is now at 76% of capacity, well above the 70% level at which such restrictions were to be reconsidered. The city is reportedly considering removing their similar restrictions. I expect that Henry Weinschenk will be breaking out a bottle of the bubbly soon. :)

According to the Water Emergency page on the Albemarle County Service Authority’s website, reservoir supplies have increased from 53.1.% of capacity to 53.9% of capacity. Given that an average of 1.5 inches of rain fell across the area yesterday, we can calculate that a 1% gain in the reservoirs requires approximately 1.9 inches of rain. Therefore, we would require just over 30.5 inches of rain in order to reach 70% capacity, at which point restrictions would be cut back. Good news from ACSA, as reported in the Progress, is that area water usage has dropped from an August average of 13.2M per day, to 10.4M throughout most of September, and is now down to 7.8M as a result of the most recent water restrictions.

A small group of restaurant owners have formed a group, called “Project H2O,” to self-regulate restaurants’ water usage. Members of the coalition met on Wednesday and created a plan to cut back on water consumption, in hopes to avoid a car-wash-style shutdown being ordered by the city. The group agreed to serve only bottled water, swapping out sinks for hand sanitizer in customer bathrooms, using disposable tableware and using paper napkins, although restaurants are complying at different levels, depending on their capabilities. Restaurants represented at the meeting included Mudhouse, C&O, Fleurie, Rapture, Oxo, Mono Loco, The Ivy Inn, Wild Greens, Starr Hill, Escafe and Orbit. Elizabeth Nelson has the story in today’s Progress.

Henry Weinschenk, owner of Express Car Wash, sent out a press release this afternoon announcing that his business will remain open without running afoul of drought laws. His company received much criticism after saying last week that they intend to stay open in spite of the laws prohibiting car washes from running. Weinschenk says that they have switched to an entirely “dry-wash” based system, using a cleaning product called “Spotless” in a process developed by Express Car Wash as a result of the water restrictions. Keep reading to see the press release.

EXPRESS CAR WASH STILL OPEN, LEGALLY!

Charlottesville, VA. — After receiving a citation last Friday for still “wet-washing” some cars at customers” request, Express Car Wash went all “Dry-Wash” as of Saturday morning. The process was developed by Express Car Wash as an answer to the draconian water restrictions (100%), which were suddenly imposed on them on September 17, 2002; despite the fact that all carwashes in Albemarle and Charlottesville together only use 1/3 of 1% of the water supply.

Within days of the imposition of the ban, Express Car Wash started to experiment on their own cars with various non-traditional methods. Finally they settled for a process they christened “Dry-Wash” based on a product they have used for touchup purposes all along for more than 12 years. It is called “Spotless” and is manufactured by ZEP, one of the largest manufacturers of cleaners for industrial, commercial and institutional use in the U.S.

“Spotless” main active ingredient is Butyl Glycol, an oxygenated solvent that has been manufactured since the thirties and extensively tested all along. It is recommended for automotive cleaning, inside and out, including rubber and vinyl surfaces. Each car is sprayed with a mist consisting of approximately 2 oz. of “Spotless” diluted with 3 quarts of bottled water. This is followed up with a complete rubbing down with clean towels.

“The results of the process are quite satisfactory, at least for cars that have not been extremely neglected before,” said Henry F. Weinschenk, General Partner of Express Car Wash of Charlottesville. “Cars with caked-on mud cannot be processed with this system at this time,” he added.

Finally Weinschenk said, “To produce the mist we use stainless steel tanks which can be pressurized with compressed air. We have removed some of our equipment in the tunnel to allow our people to apply the mist there, while the cars ride on the conveyor. The work process is not yet optimized, but it is already obvious to us that the labor content of each car washed will increase by at least 35 to 50%.”

At Monday night’s City Council meeting, public works director Judith Mueller made the alarming statement that, should current trends continue, the reservoirs will be completely empty in 80-100 days. That’s as early as the first week in December or as late as Christmas. Reservoirs are currently at 57% and dropping. This despite the outdoor water restrictions currently in place. Proposed solutions include forcing restaurants to close on Sunday, having the city collect human waste (I swear I’m not making that up), and raising the cost of monthly water bills after 600 gallons per month by 50%. Council may declare an emergency session in a matter of days to enact new restrictions. There is still no major rainfall in the forecast. Elizabeth Nelson has the story in Tuesday’s Progress. 09/18 Update: Today’s Progress reports that car washes have been ordered to close down indefinitely, fines have been put into place, and the cost of water has risen.

A tornado is currently making its way through Free Union at 25 mph, moving towards Charlottesville. I just spoke with my mother, who lives in Free Union, and she reports a low thunder-like rumble that is, unlike thunder, constant. It’s grown louder in the past few minutes, and the National Weather Service reports that the tornado is now directly in Free Union. The last tornado that we had in the area was May 13, 2002, when one ran through town from Farmington to Albemarle High School, along Route 29. Those of you that are in the tornado’s path should seek shelter immediately. Get into your basement and cover yourself with a blanket, beneath a structural support like a door frame. Can anybody offer updates as to what’s going on out there?

6:50pm: Hail the size of golf balls is raining down on Free Union right now.

7:01pm: The storm is now 5 miles northwest of Charlottesville, moving southeast at 20mph. It’s currently forecast to hit the southwestern portion of town (JPA, 5th St., UVa, Fontaine, etc.), according to the Weather Channel. I keep flipping over to WVIR, but they don’t appear to have anything but national news and, now, Wheel of Fortune.

7:10pm: Pea-to-marble-sized hail is falling in downtown, and the rain is coming down like you wouldn’t believe. Lots of thunder and lightning, but nothing tornadic-looking. (To be fair, I can’t see to the south at all.)

7:20pm: The storm has been downgraded to a severe thunderstorm. Presumably, it didn’t hit Charlottesville as a tornado.

7:35pm: A second cell is 6 miles west of Charlottesville, this one a severe thunderstorm and not a tornado. The NWS warns of softball — yes, softball — sized hail. It is moving southeast, and is forecast to impact central and southern Albemarle in the next 25 minutes. From there, south to Fluvanna.

7:40pm: Yay, it’s Robert Van Winkle on WVIR. Where you been, Robert?

11:20pm: Eric Pritchett said, on WVIR this evening, that it’s not yet known if a tornado ever touched down. Despite the NWS’ terminology (”a tornado is currently over Free Union,” etc.), apparently there’s no direct evidence of a tornado. By way of reminder, that’s the same thing that was said after the May 2000 until somebody noticed that all of the severe damage was in a 100-yard-wide swath running through town.

As Eric Pritchett is so fond of reminding us, we’re way short on rainfall, as we have been for months. Now officials are predicting that we may have to start restricting water usage if we want to make it through this coming summer. The article is in today’s Progress.

For the first time in something like 40 days, it’s raining. Though the 1/3″ of an inch that’s fallen thus far isn’t sufficient to affect the forest fires in the western part of the county, raise our shockingly-low reservoirs, or even do much more than dampen the dry soil, it’s certainly a start. The drizzle made for a rather depressing shopping day, and business on this biggest of shopping weekends was slow on the Downtown Mall as a result. The rain is forecast to last through tomorrow, and perhaps pick up again on Wednesday or Thursday.

We dropped the ball and missed Tornado Preparedness Day. Possibly because this site didn’t exist on March 27th, but that’s beside the point. We’ve got a civic duty to fulfill here, don’t we? Also, I really wanted to use that little weather icon. Governor Gilmore declared March 27th to be Tornado Preparedness Day, and the Virginia Department of Emergency Services has even put up a website all about tornado preparedness. We average, as a state, about seven tornadoes per year, and our records of them go back to 1776. The coolest one, of course, being May 13th, 2000’s, that whipped through town from Farmington to Albemarle High School and down to Route 29. Channel 29 news didn’t even mention it on the news, and later denied that it was a tornado. Something about microbursts. Anyhow, go get prepared or something.