Lehigh and Northampton counties are among six Pennsylvania counties moved from drought warning to drought watch status this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced.
The warning was declared last November for the Lehigh Valley counties, resulting in a request to voluntarily reduce water use by 10 to 15 percent.
Communities under a drought watch are encouraged to voluntarily cut water use by 5 percent.
DEP officials announced the changes in status following a meeting Tuesday of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force. The updated designations, statewide, are as follows:
Drought warning: Mifflin and Union Counties remain in drought warning status. DEP encourages a voluntary water use reduction of 10-15 percent.
Drought watch: Six counties moved from drought warning to drought watch: Carbon, Juniata, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Snyder. Fifteen other counties remain on watch: Berks, Bucks, Centre, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Montgomery, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, and Schuylkill. DEP encourages a voluntary water use reduction of 5 percent.
Normal: Eleven counties -- Adams, Bedford, Clinton, Fulton, Huntingdon, Luzerne, Lackawanna, Pike, Wayne, Sullivan, and York -- moved from drought watch to normal status, joining the rest of the state.
The DEP says drought watch and warning declarations in winter are uncommon, but they have occurred several times in the past decade: in 2011, 2010, and 2008.
DEP officials base their declarations on four indicators: precipitation deficits (averaged from numerous gauges), stream flows, groundwater levels and soil moisture.
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Public water systems in affected counties may continue to implement voluntary and mandatory water reductions in response to reduced supplies, the DEP notes.
The department suggests these steps to voluntarily reduce water use:
Run water only when necessary. Don't let the faucet run while brushing your teeth or shaving. Shorten the amount of time you let the water run to warm up before you shower. Use a bucket to catch the water and then reuse it to water your plants.
Run the dishwasher and washing machine only with full loads.
Check for household leaks. A leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water each day.
Replace older appliances with high-efficiency, front-loading models that use about 30 percent less water and 40 to 50 percent less energy.
Install low-flow plumbing fixtures and aerators on faucets.
For more information, visit the DEP's Drought Information page accessible through its dep.pa.gov website.
In New Jersey, Warren and Hunterdon counties along with the rest of the northwestern corner of the state remain under a drought warning.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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