Effects from summer drought continued in Bristol County, Massachusetts
10/17/2022 4:36:14 PM
CATEGORIES:
Agriculture
Plants & Wildlife
Water Supply & Quality
AFFECTED AREAS:
Bristol County, MA
Attleboro, MA
Foxborough, MA
Start Date: 7/15/2022
- End Date: 10/15/2022
Effects from the summer drought in Massachusetts were reaching into the fall. A beekeeper in Attleboro lost thousands of worker bees this summer to drought and heat and worries that some of her hives will not survive the winter. Honey production was halved this summer. Bees also had to travel further to find nectar.
Some local streams could become dead zones, hampering local water supplies if drought persists into the fall. The Seven Mile River, a tributary of the Ten Mile and a major source for Attleboro’s drinking water went dry early during the drought. Dead fish littered the dry riverbank, and fish concentrated in small pools.
A livestock owner who grows hay on conservation land only got one cutting of hay this year rather than three or four as they usually get. Drought and the cost of fuel were a double blow for the livestock owner. She irrigates from a pond, and it requires more pumping to get the water.
The Sun Chronicle (Attleboro, Mass.), Oct 15, 2022
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