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Until the significant rainfall in mid- October 2007, the region was baking in what weather authorities had called a severe drought, falling significantly behind in seasonal rainfall at a time temperatures soared to record levels. When officials use the term drought, they commonly refer to an agricultural condition.

A second — much more significant — kind of drought is known as a hydrologic drought, which the region is not experiencing at all, according to water officials whose operations rely on water reserves for drinking and industry. The region around Fairfield draws its drinking water from a vast water reserve deep in the ground. The water levels of that supply, known as the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer, have remained fairly constant at almost all of the 200 wells monitoring the reserve.

A severe draught would have to carry over many years to begin to impact the aquifer. Members of the Hamilton to New Baltimore Groundwater Consortium, of which Fairfield is an active participant, have monitored the aquifer for the past nine years. In addition, the consortium has referenced water level data as old as the 1940s in order to keep a watchful eye on the condition of the water resource.

Not only is the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer well stocked with water supply, it is actually recharging the Great Miami River. The massive underground reserve has accumulated an abundance of water over the years, acting as a water bank — of sorts — now supplying water to the river flow as a part of nature’s balance.

Not only is the aquifer supplying water to the Great Miami River, Fairfield residents have been placing an added demand on the water supply as well, using water at nearly double the usual rate for watering lawns in the height of the agricultural drought.

Fairfield’s water plant usually supplies 4.6 million gallons of water daily. During the hot summer, that amount peaked to 8.5 million gallons on some days, coming to within 90 percent of the City’s capacity of 9.5 million gallon daily production capacity.

Despite the demands, however, the aquifer appears to be in excellent shape, according to those who monitor it daily.

For more information about the region’s underground water resources, and efforts underway to protect it, visit www.gwconsortium.org