RITCHIE RIVER NOT RUNNING - Little Kanawha Down To A Dribble

(09/11/2002)

Hughe's River down to puddles West Virginia's top agricultural official Gus R. Douglas has requested the West Virginia Farm Service Agency to survey drought conditions across the state. The L-K region has just experienced a record dry August, and the situation is worsening. Several Calhoun farmers have said grasslands and small streams are in greater distress than the recent drought experienced in the area. Ritchie County has declared a state of emergency, rationing water. The Hughes River is not running, and the Little Kanawha is down to a dribble. Water can be released into the L-K from the Burnsville Dam to replenish water supplies in Glenville, Grantsville and Elizabeth. Commissioner Douglas says many state farmers have complained their wells and springs are drying up. Douglas said officials in at least five counties in north central West Virginia are in extreme distress, although the eastern part of the state is suffering from a drought that is affecting the east coast. He said the FSA survey will begin to place the problem in a clearer light, in case federal drought money is needed.

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