Followed by a stretch of extreme heat during an already-dry summer, county officials will be holding a drought summit Wednesday morning to address any potential ground water issues. 

With the decreased precipitation, water flow in many area streams is greatly reduced, and water levels in many ground water monitoring wells are falling, according to a press release about the dry weather conditions.

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The summit will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the County Administration Building at 2200 North Seminary Avenue in Woodstock. 

Municipal officials, watershed monitors, township officials, agricultural representatives, golf course operators, other high volume water users and interested stakeholders are encouraged to attend the meeting and discuss the worsening conditions.

“It is not quite clear if all municipalities have a program for drought preparedness,” said Mary T. McCann, McHenry County Board member. “We want to encourage them to get something because we are totally dependant on ground water. If this continues next year, we will be in a lot of trouble. We want to get the municipalities on board to start thinking about these kind of things.”

According to the press release, McHenry County is urging all residents to implement voluntary water conservation measures such as:

• Watering lawns and gardens in the early morning and evening hours and only when absolutely necessary

• Avoiding washing cars

• Repairing leaky water fixtures

• Turning off the water while shaving and brushing teeth

• Taking shorter showers

• Using dishwashers and clothes washers only when full

• Not letting the water run when washing dishes by hand

The McHenry County water resources website has more water conservation ideas.