| The persistent rains the last few months has relieved drought conditions that have plagued much of Pennsylvania over the last year. Last week, the Commonwealth Drought Task Force lifted a drought watch for twenty-one counties but kept the watch in place for seven counties. The Task Force lifted the drought watch for Adams, Allegheny, Bucks, Carbon, Columbia, Dauphin, Fayette, Greene, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Luzerne, Montgomery, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Pike, Schuylkill, and York Counties and all are returned to normal status. However, Chester, Cumberland, Delaware, Franklin, Lehigh, Philadelphia, and Washington Counties remain in a drought watch. Berks County’s status improved from drought warning to watch status. As such, despite the abundance of rain in May and June, residents in these counties are encouraged, but not required, to voluntarily reduce water use by 5% to 10%. The Task Force noted that these eight counties are still seeing groundwater levels that have not returned to normal for this time of year based on long-term monitoring of observation wells. This is due to the significant drought conditions experienced in late 2024, which were the driest in more than 20 years. Click here for more information. |
