RICHMOND, June 13 -- In Fauquier County, sixteen subdivisions stopped watering their lawns this week, not by choice. In Durham, North Carolina, restaurants will start serving water only on request from Monday, and any business that uses more than 100,000 gallons a day has to find a way to cut 30 percent. In Connecticut, the governor declared three counties under a drought advisory. The Eastern Seaboard, the part of the country that is supposed to have water, is starting to ration it.

The Virginia figure is the one that startles. Extreme drought, the second-worst category the US Drought Monitor publishes, now covers 38 percent of the state, up from 25 percent a week earlier, WTVR reported. Precipitation since October 1 sits roughly seven ...