Extreme drought forces N.L. homesteader to adjust to reduced water supply
Like many in Newfoundland and Labrador, Steve McBride waited through August for the rain to come. Then September passed, still leaving the ground dry.
It’s mid-October and the Southern Shore homesteader says his well is near ground-level.
He and his partner care for ducks, turkeys, goats and bees. They all get thirsty regardless of the dry weather, so these days McBride has to make a regular trip to a nearby pond to stock up.
“You just sort of take it for granted. You think the rain’s gonna come,” he told On The Go’s Gavin Simms in an interview for the CBC Radio program.
McBride says he moved to N.L. 12 years ago because he thought it would be less affected by climate change than other regions.
“I kind of felt like we were getting off the hook,” he said.
That unfortunately wasn’t the case.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s drought monitor indicates that the Avalon Peninsula is experiencing severe to extreme drought — both short and long term — as of Sept. 30.
The Canadian Drought Monitor indicates that most of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador is under an extreme drought. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
According to the federal department, N.L. was “notably drier” than other Atlantic provinces this summer.
McBride’s homestead outside of the town of Mobile lies in the “extreme” zone. He’s seeing the effect of the dry spell not only in the water supply, but also in the animals’ behaviour.
He had to start watering his bees for the first time, for example.
When he put a tray of water near the bees one day, McBride says they descended on it within minutes to collect water.
“That was an ‘a-ha’ moment for me where I was realizing that they weren’t getting the water they needed from the environment anymore,” said McBride. “We had to step in and take care of that for them.”
Homesteader Steve McBride says the government needs to step in to address climate change in Newfoundland and Labrador. (Gavin Simms/CBC)
The homesteader said more people are going to have to do the same, and adapt to a changing climate. He also thinks the government has a chance to step up and help.
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McBride suggested more green spaces, and perhaps subsidizing agricultural operations so they can haul more water if they need to.
“Those are the kind of things we might need to look to in the future to make sure that we're building community resilience, that communities aren't getting depopulated or emptied out by by climate change,” he said.
This article, written by Maddie Ryan, was originally published for CBC News. With files from Gavin Simms and On The Go