The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has lifted the “drought watch” advisory for the Roanoke River basin that was issued in September.
The affected localities and public water suppliers include Patrick, Franklin, Roanoke, Henry, Bedford, Pittsylvania, Campbell, Halifax, Charlotte and Mecklenburg counties and the cities of Danville, Martinsville, Roanoke and Salem in the Roanoke River basin.
According to the Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force, which represents state and federal agencies, the primary factors contributing to the lifting of the drought watch advisory are:
-- Precipitation deficits for 2015 have been eliminated across nearly all of the Roanoke River basin by above-normal rainfall during the last 60 days.
-- Stream flows and groundwater levels have returned to normal or above-normal levels.
-- The National Weather Service has predicted a significant chance for above-normal precipitation during the next month.
Statewide information on the current drought status is available on the DEQ website at www.deq.virginia.gov.
