PINE GROVE, W.Va. — The extended drought has evolved into a dire situation in the Wetzel County community of Pine Grove, sending Valley High School to remote status through Friday.
The town gets water from the creeks and streams, but the continued drought has dried them up. Wetzel County Commissioner Carla McBee said after conservation efforts and searching for alternative sources, they will reach the end of their supply very soon.
“They are totally out of water in the Pine Grove area, probably by this evening or tomorrow,” McBee said. “Which affects all citizens and especially the school.”
McBee said in the past streams have run as much as six feet deep and have supported fishing tournaments and other recreation activities.
Data from the National Weather Service (NWS) shows the area is up nine inches behind in normal rainfall, and it would take as much as a foot of rain for the area to recover.
“The creeks that supply the water to Pine Grove have gone from decent water supplies clear down to stagnant water,” McBee said. “Places where there was six feet of water are down to six inches of water.”
The NWS Pittsburgh office has Wetzel County in an extreme drought category that meteorologist Alicia Miller said is likely to continue for the next several months. She added the average rainfall for the area is 3 inches per month.
“We need so much rain to return to normal that we’re not anticipating, at least not for the next month, anything that’s going to recover that area from the drought conditions,” Miller said.
With a declaration of an emergency or disaster, the list of immediate actions that can be taken by the state is limited. Wetzel County leaders continue to look for solutions, but so far have yet to find options, immediate or long-term.
“The governor’s office says there’s no money available at this point, and the state says there’s no follow-up plan from them or FEMA because droughts happen so infrequently,” McBee said.
Officials are looking for ways to pump or truck water in until the drought conditions ease, but some in the business community might not have much time.
“I can see if we don’t get a grip on this soon, I can see a lot of these businesses closing their doors, if not permanently, at least temporarily,” McBee said.
Story by Mike Nolting, WAJR