Did the drought really affect the District s groundwater supplies?
Yes, the dry winter did affect the amount of water available to the District. The aquifer levels within the District are monitored, but predicting the aquifers response to each year s changing climate conditions is still an inexact science. The District wells tap several aquifer systems, and each system responds differently to rainfall events. The Shallow Plateau Aquifer is the aquifer that is particularly stressed this summer due to the dry winter. The rainfall over the past spring will help to recharge this aquifer, but these effects will not be seen in time to provide water during the 2001 peak use season. The District did augment the shallow plateau aquifer with water from the Issaquah Valley Aquifer, however, this did not bring the levels up substantially.
