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Drought â€" what drought? presents ‘Your Valley‘ o figure. Back in the G.spring, I wrote a colâ€" umn called "Dealing with the Drought." Wisely {or so I thought) I decided to hang onto it until summer, when river flows tend to be lowest. You see, from the spring of 1997 until early May, we had been in the grip of one of the worst droughts ever to strike â€" southern Ontario. During this stretch, rainfall was a whopping 21 per cent below normal. Shallow wells ran dry, rivers were low and lawn watering bans were the norm in many cities. Yet it could have been much worse. Without _ extra _ water added to the Grand, Speed and Conestogo rivers, these watercourses would have almost dried up. Where did this water come from? To keep the rivers flowing well, the Grand River Conservation Authority gradually â€" released water stored from spring snowmelt from Lake Conestogo, Belwood Lake near Fergus, Luther Lake snowmelt from Lake Conestogo, Belwood Lake near Fergus, Luther Lake near â€" Arthur, and Guelph Lake. Water stored in these large reservoirs, and some other smaller ones, makes a huge difference in our ability to withstand dry periods and keep the river healthy. *Netw ork Installation *Fullâ€"Ser vice Consulting «"Web Hosting »Computer Training o0 . COm OO * Searchable Business Directory‘ *Free Classified Ads! *News and Info about your community! The GRCA visit UptownWaterloo In places along the upper By Dan SchnetDer For the Chrontcle #3 â€" 10 regina street n www .madnetter com madnetter@madnettercom the mad netfter river last summer, over 90 per cent of the flow was water added from reservoirs. This was followed by last winter‘s meagre snowfall and this spring‘s dry kickoff. Then came the rain. Our Mayâ€"June total rainâ€" fall was the greatest in 60 years, measured at Shand dam near Fergus. These two months flipped our year 2000 precipitation total from 25 per cent below average at the end of April to 32 per cent above average by the end of June. Heavy, concenâ€" trated rainfall caused two floods in May and one in June. Although flooding was relatively minor in the cenâ€" tral and southern parts of the watershed, some northâ€" ern areas were hard hit. The Conestogo _ River â€" above Drayton, for example, had the secondâ€"highest flow ever recorded during the June food Last year, some of our area‘s lakes and streams literally dried d h0 iofi altals inabiAienhieil Adibint Mgil i7 m Rene en s n ce es e nc ECC up. in a normal year, this person would be standing up to his waist in water at Wrigley Lake near Cambridge. This year, heavy rains in May and June caused groundwater levels to rise, but they are not yet back to normal. But, in spite of the late spring rains, the drought isn‘t necessarily over. The Mayâ€"June deluge still left us with a 12â€"perâ€"centâ€"belowâ€" normal deficit over the last three years. This works out (519) 886. 1099 The reservoirs are an important part of the Grand River â€" watershed‘s water «control system. These reserâ€" voirs serve a dual role of reducing floods and adding water to the river during lowâ€"flow periods. Their sucâ€" cess in maintaining river flows and water quality durâ€" ing dry periods is often overâ€" looked. to a shortfall of 341 millimeâ€" tres, or close to oneâ€"third of a year‘s rainfall. As I write this, we‘re in the second week of a fairly dry spell. The reservoirs are once again adding water to the river, and this may increase as the summer goes on. This extra water added to the river is important to the health of the river and the wildlife and human life that depend upon it. Reservoir water helps to maintain sufficient water for a safe and secure supply from the river. The A4 and A6 « Visionary engineering « Raceâ€"bred 5â€"valve engine technology * A choice of FrontTrak"" frontâ€"wheel drive or quattro® allâ€" wheel drive * Innovative design * Both, incredible values * Extraordinary cars await you at your local Audi dealer. . Crosby Audl 1175 Weber St. E., Kitchener 85 Or visit us at our Website http www croshyvwaudi com FROM THE ORDINARY 894â€"9300