REMARKS
Importance of the drought hearing despite recent rainfall
0:01:55
·
69 sec
Council Member Jim Gennaro explains the necessity of the drought hearing despite recent rainfall. He highlights the current state of the city's water reservoirs and the impact of climate change on water resources.
- Recent rainfall doesn't negate the need for the hearing as reservoirs are still below normal levels
- The city needs sustained above-average rainfall to offset the deficit from September and October
- Climate change is causing longer summers and more variable weather patterns, affecting water needs and availability
Jim Gennaro
0:01:55
Now some of you may be asking, Why are we having an oversight hearing about, about the drought at all?
0:02:01
It rained last week, it rained yesterday, and it's forecasted to rain tomorrow.
0:02:07
While it's true that the city and our upstate watershed had a fairly normal November when it comes to rainfall, and December has been off to a pretty good start, the unfortunate reality is that our reservoirs are still far short of the water levels we normally have on hand at this point oh, come on.
0:02:31
At this point in the year, I think we're about 20 points down, Paul, or something like that, 20 percentage points, supposed to be it.
0:02:39
Something like that.
0:02:39
Right?
0:02:40
I'm I'm I'm sure you'll speak to that.
0:02:44
And we need to sustain above average rainfall levels to cancel out the deficit caused by a paucity of rain in September October.
0:02:54
With climate change comes not only longer summers that increase our local water needs, but also more variable, less predictable weather patterns that must be accounted for.
