Officials: Bergen County On Drought Watch Amid Dry Weather Conditions
BERGEN COUNTY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The U.S. Drought Monitor has declared most of Bergen County is in a severe drought.
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The organization also reported that Long Island, Westchester, Rockland, Hudson Valley and Connecticut are also facing drought conditions, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported.
Officials at the Oradell reservoir in Bergen County say the reservoir is only operating at 44 percent capacity, and that the area is in need of precipitation.
"What we need, really, is a very wet fall and a lot of snow this winter," spokesperson Billie Gallo said.
Lawerence Hanja, of the State Department of Environmental Protection, says the area is currently on a drought watch and it could be upgraded to a drought warning by Thursday.
"That will allow us to transfer water between reservoir systems," Hanja said.
Officials say the conditions are the worst they have been in more than a decade.