Despite a bout of heavy rain last month, the state is getting dryer.
All of Merrimack, Sullivan, Strafford and Belknap Counties are now in moderate drought, along with parts of Northern and Southern New Hampshire.
State water conservation chief Stacey Herbold says summers can always be tough on groundwater and drinking water supplies – but the recent heat and lack of rain isn’t helping.
The state is 1 to 3 inches below normal precipitation over the past three months.
Herbold says it means homeowners may already be seeing their lawns turn brown and gardens dry up.
She says farmers’ growing seasons are also suffering, and stream levels are shrinking.
"At this point, everything is pointing to a much dryer summer.
More than 40 of the state’s water systems have mandatory or voluntary outdoor water use restrictions in place as of this week.
Before this three-year period, Herbold says, New Hampshire’s last drought was in 2003.
Groundwater levels typically recharge the most in spring and fall, when lower temperatures prevent evaporation, and there are fewer growing plants to suck up rainfall.