Rainfall across the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) was 5.33 inches in June, “about an inch less than the long-term average of 6.39 inches.” So reports the SRWMD’s latest hydrologic conditions report. Madison County, meanwhile, received 4.69 inches, compared with 6.08 inches in May, which is 77 percent of normal for the month. Madison County received 48.80 inches during the last 12 months, or 87 percent of the annual normal. Jefferson County, for its part, received less than three inches of rain during the month, putting it among the counties that received the least amounts of rain in June. The average rainfall across the district for the 12-month period ending June 30 was 48.3 inches, compared to the long-term average of 54.6 inches, “for a cumulative 12-month deficit of 6.3 inches,” with “all major river basins maintaining annual deficits from about four to nine inches,” according to the report. Meanwhile, the average district rainfall for the three months ending June 30 was about one and a half- inches below the long-term average of 13.0 inches.
Jefferson County received 2.99 inches in June, compared with 6.09 inches in May, which is 49 percent of normal for the month. The county received 48.23 inches of rainfall during the last 12 months, or 80 percent of the annual normal. River levels across the district generally started the month in the normal flow ranges and for the most part remained in the normal range. Lake levels generally declined across the district, with Sneads Smokehouse Lake in northern Jefferson County continuing to drop. And groundwater levels in monitored wells likewise declined in June, with the exception of four. Overall, the district ended the month at the 54th percentile aquifer level. The SRWMD continues to urge the conservation of water. For more Information, visit www.mysuwanneeriver.-com. The SRWMD encompasses all or parts of 15 counties in north-central Florida, including Madison and the eastern portion of Jefferson. The monthly report is a compilation of data collected from radar-derived rainfall estimates, groundwater and surface water levels, river flows and other sources.