Driest June On Record For Chicago - Tribune

[hatrack]

"Chicago's driest June on record has drawn down rivers, strained underground aquifers and sucked moisture out of the soil, leaving everybody from farmers to city gardeners begging for rain.

But even if there is not a cloud in sight, some state officials see a silver lining in this summer's drought. With everybody focused on water--or the lack of it--the experts hope to turn attention to a less immediate, but more vexing problem. Rain or shine, demand for water through the region is rising steadily. But supply, whether it is from Lake Michigan, underground aquifers or local rivers, remains fixed.

In 2000, people in Illinois used 15,792 million gallons of water a day. In 2025, officials expect that number to jump to 20,198 million gallons of water a day--a 28 percent increase. That means the kind of restrictions and dangers cropping up this summer could become a regular part of the landscape.

EDIT

Chicago saw less than an inch of rain in June. Many hoped storms over the 4th of July weekend would ease this year's drought, but a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said the state needs much more rain. "We only saw a couple hundredths of an inch in some areas," Nathan Marsili said. "It won't really help long-term conditions, and we're not looking for any rain in the next week."

EDIT

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0507070195jul07,1,3948221.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

[iamjoy]

1. Well, It Rained When *I* Was There

I came up from Orlando last Friday (June 30) and it rained Sunday and Monday, the day I left. I seem to remember them talking about the drought and heat though. And my husband and I were like, "heat?"