Despite rain, Indiana drought continues to worsen - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

The federal government's weekly drought update shows Indiana's drought is continuing to worsen despite recent rainfall.

Storms overnight brought between two and four inches of rain to much of central Indiana, but Citizens Water says it will take several weeks of rainfall to restore water levels to normal.

Thursday's U.S. Drought Monitor update classifies 25 percent of the state covering western and southwestern Indiana as experiencing an exceptional drought, up slightly from last week. An exceptional drought is the report's worst drought category.

Nearly 70 percent of the state is now facing extreme drought conditions, up from last week's 60 percent. And about 90 percent of Indiana is facing at least a severe drought, an increase from last week's 85 percent.

The federal map classifies drought into four stages ranging from moderate to exceptional. Indiana's least drought-stricken counties are in the northwest, southeast and east-central, where a moderate drought prevails.

The drought monitor cut-off day is Tuesday, so this week's report does not take Wednesday's and Thursday's rainfall into account.

Indiana drought report

From Citizens Water:

All three area reservoirs have risen slightly as of early Thursday morning, but the water company expects improvements in water levels by Friday after the full impact of the rain is felt.

As a result, Citizens Water expects to keep water use restrictions in place for the foreseeable future. Water usage has averaged 145 million gallons so far in August, indicating high compliance with the watering ban.

Reservoir Levels

· Morse Level: 804.20 (down 5.80 feet from full)
· Geist Level: 783.02 (down 1.98 feet from full)
· Eagle Creek Level: 786.59 (down 3.41 from full)

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)