The Department of Environmental Protection this week issued a drought watch for all 67 counties in Pennsylvania calling on residents to voluntarily reduce water use by 5 percent.

"Despite recent rainfall, precipitation levels over the last two months are below normal in every corner of the commonwealth," DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty said. "Two-thirds of our counties are 50 percent or more below their normal precipitation levels. The remaining counties are reporting a deficit of at least 25 percent.

"Although conservation is a year-round responsibility, now is the time for residents to manage water resources even more carefully to avoid serious problems if precipitation levels do not return to normal in the coming weeks," McGinty said.

In addition to below normal precipitation, groundwater and surface water levels are low in many regions of the state. Even in areas with normal or near-normal groundwater and surface water levels, those levels are declining rapidly.

The Susquehanna River is 65 percent below its normal flow. Several streams and rivers recently posted record low flows for this time of year, including: Loyalhanna Creek, Westmoreland County; the Clarion River, Clarion County; Dyberry Creek, Wayne County; the Schuylkill River, Schuylkill County; Muncy Creek, Sullivan County; and onodoguinet Creek, Cumberland County.

Public water suppliers, businesses and industries should monitor supplies during this drought watch period. Water-intensive commercial users should try to conserve water.

A drought watch is the lowest of three levels of drought status, asking for a 5 percent reduction in water use by residents. The next stage, a drought warning, calls for a voluntary reduction of 10 percent to 15 percent. A drought emergency, the final stage, includes mandatory water use reductions of at least 15 percent. Pennsylvania's last declared drought emergency was in 2002.

All 67 Pennsylvania counties have been in normal status since seven counties on the western edge of Pennsylvania were upgraded from a drought watch to normal on June 18, 2003. With that upgrade, it was the first time since August 8, 2001, that the entire state was normal.

For tips on how you can save water, visit DEP’s online Drought Information Center. For information on stream, groundwater and precipitation levels, see the story from last week’s PA Environment Digest.

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4/14/2006