PROVIDENCE (WPRI) — Gov. Dan McKee has issued the state’s first drought watch since 2002 as Rhode Island continues to grapple with a substantial lack of rain.
The watch comes about a month after McKee announced a statewide drought advisory. He issued both the watch and advisory at the recommendation of the Rhode Island Water Resources Board’s Drought Steering Committee.
The Drought Steering Committee looks at precipitation, groundwater and stream flow levels when determining the state’s status. This is the second lowest of the state’s drought declarations, with only warning and emergency ranking above it…