State lifts drought conditions for most Virginia regions, including the Tri-Cities

RICHMOND – No more drought – at least for us.

The state Department of Environmental Quality said Friday it was lifting drought advisories for 76 Virginia localities after soaking rain from last week’s Tropical Storm Debby remnants pushed up the water tables to pre-drought levels. Some areas are still in the drought danger zone, including the Shenandoah and Big Sandy regions.

The Middle James River region, which covers the cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell; and Chesterfield County is one of nine DEQ areas where the advisories are lifted.

In a statement, DEQ said several factors contributed to the decision, with the biggest being up to eight inches of rain falling across portions of Virginia last week as Debby’s remnants moved through.

"Storage at major water supply reservoirs have recovered and are all within normal ranges,” DEQ said.

The extra rain also pushed up the amount of streamflow, except for the Big Sandy region covering Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, and Wise counties in southwest Virginia. While the flow is not as high as the state would like it to be, it was still high enough to factor into the advisory lifting.

The Big Sandy region remains under drought watch, while the Shenandoah region – including Staunton, Waynesboro, Harrisonburg and Augusta County – remains under drought warning. A “watch” means conditions remain favorable while a “warning” means the conditions are pretty much in place.

“DEQ is working with local governments, public water works, and water users in the affected areas to ensure that conservation and drought response plans and ordinances are followed,” the statement read.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: State lifts drought conditions for most Virginia regions, including the Tri-Cities