WEATHER Rain brings dry spell for some businesses

Many cities will lose water revenue as fewer people wash cars or sprinkle lawns.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Storms swamping the state in recent weeks have been more than annoying. They've cost farmers, campground operators and marina owners quite a bit of money, too.
The Ohio Emergency Management Agency has already paid $7.7 million for damage reported from May storms in eight counties under a presidential declaration of disaster.
"We've had a whole lot of trees down, a whole lot of wind damage and a whole lot of flooding," said Gary Garnet, severe weather coordinator for the National Weather Service in Cleveland.
Mud, debris and floodwaters covered campsites at Tappan Lake Park this week near Cadiz in eastern Ohio. There was damage to roads in the park also.
Fishing shacks and city parks that line the Maumee River just south of Toledo were under water. And the campground at Mary Jane Thurston State Park along the river will be closed through Sunday because of flooding.
Although the heaviest rains have been in northern and central Ohio, boaters haven't been able to get out on the Ohio River as much because of the wet weather.
"A lot of them just like to sit out on their boats even if they don't take them out," said Pam Tonne of Mariner's Landing Marina in Cincinnati.
No need to wash
Residents are using less water outside to wash cars and water lawns because of the frequent rain, which means city governments will make less money on water bills.
"Absolutely nobody is going to be out there sprinkling their lawn," said Ed Beers, who works in Findlay's utilities department. A rate increase in January has saved the city from taking a huge financial hit.
The northwest Ohio city is on pace to have the wettest June since the city began recording rainfall in 1894.
Farmers are having a tough time. Hay is rotting in the fields, and strawberries are drowning in saturated soils.
"We're just sitting in the sheds with the tractors, watching it rain," said Jim Skeeles, an agent for the Ohio State University Extension Service in Lorain County.
Farmers there have planted only about 25 percent of their corn crop.
"This is our third wet spring in a row, and I think this is the worst one yet," said Dave Schweitzer, a farmer near Zanesville.
Hickerson Strawberry Farm near Mansfield lost about half of its crop in the last few days, said owner Ted Hickerson. "We're still getting berries, but it takes a lot longer to pick them," he said.
The plus side
Not everyone was suffering from the weather.
Avid gardeners still pick out hostas, tomato plants and wisteria vines at Oakland Nursery in Columbus.
"It'll be thundering and lightning, and we'll have customers in the nursery," said Jodi Dawson, one of the managers. "When they are ready to plant, they are ready to plant."
Outdoor seating -- on a porch with a big awning -- has been popular for dinners and wine tastings at Alana's Food and Wine a few miles north of the Ohio State University campus.
"I'm packed just about every night," owner and chef Alana Shock said. "Our diners like to sit and watch the rain fall."