YORK, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from Sept. 21, 2023.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Friday announced today after a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force that Drought Watch will continue for 19 counties, including seven in Central Pennsylvania.
York County's status has been moved to Drought Warning, the DEP said. The move is to support efforts of water suppliers and their customers to conserve water.
Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Perry counties are among the counties were the Drought Watch will continue, the DEP said.
For a map of drought declarations updated daily, see the DEP drought web page.
Residents on drought warning are asked to reduce their individual water use by 10 to 15%, or a reduction of six to nine gallons of water per day, the DEP said.
Varying localized conditions may lead water suppliers or municipalities to ask residents for more stringent conservation actions.
See the list of public water suppliers that have requested or mandated water conservation in their communities, DEP said.
Ways to Conserve Water at Home
According to DEP, there are many ways to conserve water at home, including:
- Run the dishwasher and washing machine less often, and only with full loads.
- Shorten the time you let the water run to warm up before showering and take shorter showers. The shower and toilet are the two biggest indoor water guzzlers.
- Check for and repair household leaks. For example, a leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water daily.
- Install low-flow plumbing fixtures and aerators on faucets.
- Replace older appliances with high-efficiency, front-loading models that use about 30% less water and 40-50% less energy.
You can find more tips on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website.
To determine drought conditions, DEP said it assesses four indicators from data and information provided by public water suppliers: precipitation, surface water (stream and river) flow, groundwater level, and soil moisture.
The DEP Drought Coordinator monitors the indicators in close partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which maintains gauges in streams and wells in many locations across Pennsylvania.
There are normal ranges for all four indicators. DEP makes drought status recommendations after assessing departures from these ranges for all indicators for periods of 3-12 months.
See the USGS Pennsylvania drought condition monitoring website for a map that’s updated daily to show the status of all four indicators for each county.