STEWARTSTOWN, Pa. — Puddles are a rare sight in South Central Pennsylvania this year.
Scattered showers brought temporary relief in Stewartstown on Wednesday, but municipal officials know it's not enough, pointing to the water shortages that began last year.
"With a lack of snowpack, the ground was extremely dry even coming into the spring," said Ira Walker Jr., Stewartstown's sewer water supervisor. "The little bit of rain that we did have helped, but what people might forget is that we're fighting for this water with vegetation, crops, they're all fighting for this water as well."
The borough's water system has six wells that produce 150,000 gallons per day, with another 150,000 gallons coming from the York Water Company.
The authority's five-thousand-plus customers usually use about 250,000 gallons per day, but the dry weather has driven up consumption.
Now, the communities are using more than 330,000 gallons per day.
"If you do the math, that's 80,000 gallons per day difference," Walker said. "All that adds up."
Municipal employees are keeping an eye on the water supply, monitoring wells and recording the numbers every day. They're slowly growing more concerned.
"Our levels in our wells are starting to show that signs of distress, not critical, but we're trying to avoid getting critical," Walker said. "Let's be proactive and let's cut back the use now."
Officials say to let your green grass go, blaming some of the highest water usages on sprinklers watering lawns. They're also asking residents to cut back on washing their cars, helping conserve a precious resource and preventing further concerns later this year.
"Who knows what could happen going into the fall," Walker said. "This trend could continue. If we don't take the steps now, we might be in real bad shape then."