After months of drought concerns, the Hopewell Valley and most of New Jersey have returned to normal water-supply conditions following a summer and early fall marked by unusually heavy rainfall.
The state on Thursday lifted the statewide drought warning that had been in effect since Dec. 5, 2025, citing significant improvements in precipitation, streamflow, reservoirs and groundwater supplies.
All of New Jersey’s drought regions have returned to normal status except the Coastal South region, which was downgraded from a drought warning to a drought watch. That region includes all of Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties and portions of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem counties.
For the Hopewell Valley, the change marks a substantial turnaround from the dry conditions that had persisted across New Jersey for much of the past two years.
Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough and Pennington are part of the state’s Southwest drought region. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s latest regional water-supply report, dated Sept. 27, showed the Southwest region returning to normal overall water-supply status. The region’s 90-day precipitation and groundwater indicators were classified as near or above normal, although streamflow remained moderately dry. The DEP cautions that local water-supply conditions can vary and that its regional classifications incorporate multiple water-supply indicators and professional judgment.
A dramatic shift in rainfall
The change comes after an exceptionally wet stretch across Mercer County and much of the state.
Over the 90 days from July 3 through Sept. 30, Mercer County received approximately 20.3 inches of precipitation — 8.3 inches above average, according to data from the National Weather Service Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center. Much of New Jersey received precipitation well above normal during the same period.
The state said most counties received between 5.5 and 9.5 inches more precipitation than normal over the past 90 days.
That followed an extended period in which rainfall deficits repeatedly accumulated. According to the DEP, New Jersey recorded precipitation deficits during 25 of the previous 30 months before conditions began improving this summer.
Statewide climate records also illustrate the reversal. New Jersey recorded 6.31 inches of precipitation in July and 7.36 inches in August, according to data from the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist at Rutgers University. The state’s 30-year normals for those months are 4.71 inches and 4.57 inches, respectively.
Together, July and August brought 13.67 inches of precipitation statewide, compared with a normal 9.28 inches for the two months.
Heavy rainfall continued into September, including several significant storms late in the month.
A long-running drought concern
New Jersey’s latest drought problems developed after a prolonged period of below-normal precipitation.
The state entered a drought watch in October 2025 before conditions deteriorated further. On Dec. 5, the DEP declared a statewide drought warning, one step below a drought emergency.
A drought warning allows the state to take additional steps to manage water supplies but does not itself impose the mandatory restrictions associated with a drought emergency.
Thursday’s action removes that warning across the state.
The exception is the Coastal South, where officials say groundwater supplies have been slower to recover. The region’s porous geology requires greater amounts of precipitation to recharge its aquifers, according to the DEP, and it will remain under a drought watch while conditions continue to be monitored.
The Sept. 27 state report illustrates that difference. While the Southwest region containing Hopewell Valley had returned to normal overall, Coastal South remained at watch status, with groundwater still classified as extremely dry.
Despite the improvement, state officials continue to encourage residents to conserve water.
