Drought Strikes Dutchess County

The College and its surrounding environment are being hit hard by a period of prolonged dryness in the Hudson Valley.

Marist's iconic landscape is a victim of the drought conditions, but retention lawns on campus can help conserve water. Source: Emma Denes '25

If you were hoping to beat the heat this year, you are out of luck. Typically reserved for the West Coast, the drought this summer decided to make a short stop in New York State, leaving ecosystems, landscapes and residents in a dry spell.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, 13.3 million New Yorkers are currently affected by drought, which includes much of Dutchess County residents. August had the second hottest temperatures on record for the county, and the region is still in a combination of moderate and severe drought.

The extra warmth is partially due to the jet stream, which is keeping warm air currents in the Hudson Valley. Even with the recent spout of rainy weather, the long-term prevalence of climate change has exacerbated conditions, thanks to global warming trends.

"We may not be seeing a big change in the total amount of precipitation in places like the Northeast…but we're seeing heavier events with longer, drier and more severe dry and hot intervals in between," said Dr. Stephen Hamilton, senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. 

Just this August, a wildfire broke out in Minnewaska State Park Preserve, which lies across the Hudson River in Ulster County. The fire was sparked by lightning, but according to the local government, dried terrain made containment efforts that much more difficult. "You never know what nature is going to bring us under the conditions we're creating," Hamilton said. 

Drought, along with increased temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions, has an adverse effect on human health conditions, including asthma and heat exhaustion. Marist College students are certainly feeling the heat, especially freshmen, who lack air conditioning in their dorm rooms.

But the local ecosystem was also a victim of the dryness. According to Hamilton, Wappinger Creek, the largest creek in the county, experienced reduced streamflow, while the Hudson River continued to reduce its oxygen levels in response to the heat. 

Finding seasonal wetlands such as this was a rarity for Johnson as she conducted her research in the midst of a dry spell. Source: Avalon Johnson '24

Over the summer, Avalon Johnson '24 witnessed this ecological adversity firsthand. Along with Dr. Zion Klos, assistant professor of environmental science at Marist, she conducted research on vernal pools in the Hudson Valley region. 

Out of 80 seasonal wetlands Johnson examined, only 10 were filled with a substantial amount of water, since most of them dried up early in the summer. "I went to each site, and I was there for two or so hours walking, bushwhacking through the woods to these different pools," she said, "and just one after another--dry, dry, dry."

Based on her current analysis of the research, she pinpoints that amphibians in the dried pools, such as frogs, were forced to speed up their growth. "They have to develop their legs and move on to dry environments from their aquatic habitats where they're born a lot sooner than they would have before," she added.

The agriculture industry was not spared of the drought either. After crops encountered stunted growth, the heavy rain resulted in nitrogen leaching, when groundwater stored beneath the land gave way and leaked nutrients out of the dry soil. "It's wasted money and wasted energy…where the nutrients eventually cause trouble with excessive algal growth and harmful algal blooms," Hamilton said.

Even the scenic Marist landscape has been altered. According to Brian Coons, the campus grounds supervisor, lawns are sprinkled during the cooler evenings and early mornings to conserve water. But over the summer, they were also watered in the afternoons when fewer students remained on campus. "Because we pride ourselves on providing that nice-looking campus with large vast green space, it was important for us to still continue to water," he said.

Even though brown lawns may not be as pleasing to the eye as those that are green, they do emphasize the significance of the climate crisis, which is an issue Generation Z values now more than ever. "I almost feel like for students today and prospective students, it would make more of an impact to see the brown lawns on campus and notice what's happening around them," said Johnson. 

Coons said the goal of the grounds department is to create a visually aesthetic campus with a park-like atmosphere, and sustainability is always at the forefront. This includes the College’s retention lawns, which are filled with drought-resistant plants that release rainwater back into the ground. "We're always looking for ways to improve our operations," he said.

Although the most severe drought has passed in New York, the effects are still visible--all you have to do is glance at the trees that dot the region's terrain. According to the latest I LOVE NY Fall Foliage Report, the leaves are just beginning to change color in the Hudson Valley. In a press release from Cornell University, Arthur DeGaetano, director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center, emphasizes that leaf peeping just won't be the same this year.

"Such dry conditions, particularly if they extend into the fall, may delay the onset of fall colors. In addition, trees that have been particularly hit hard…are likely to show only muted colors, with leaves dropping quickly. Thus, in some areas," he said, "the reds and yellows of fall might not last as long as normal."

Most of New York State is still in a drought watch, meaning that "residents are strongly encouraged to voluntarily conserve water." Besides implementing individual action, such as taking shorter showers or turning off the sink when you brush your teeth, you can also contribute to campus-wide initiatives to conserve natural resources, such as the new composting program run by the SGA Sustainability Committee.

Adjusting behavior on both the independent and interdependent levels is a simple way to restructure our way of living on an ever-warming planet. "Adaptation is going to be really important, and that goes from individuals to societies and industries and everything," said Hamilton.