DENNIS – Hydrologists mark a different start to the new year than the rest of us. The “water year” starts Sept. 29, and marks the end of the drawdown of groundwater levels by evaporation, trees and lawns, and the beginning of the recharge of our aquifer by rain and winter snow.
This water year began with over half of Cape Cod and the Islands in the grip of extreme drought and the rest in severe drought. With little snow this winter and not quite enough spring rain, the region stands on the threshold of its high-use season with every town except Bourne, Mashpee, Sandwich, Falmouth and Martha’s Vineyard classified in the U.S. Drought Monitor as abnormally dry.