Half of the Lehigh Valley is no longer under a drought watch, according to state officials. WDIY’s Sarit Laschinsky has more.
The Department of Environmental Protection announced Monday that Pennsylvania’s drought watch has been lifted in 16 counties statewide, including Lehigh County.
According to a release, the drought watch has also been lifted for several counties surrounding the Lehigh Valley including Berks, Bucks, Monroe and Montgomery counties.
However, Northampton County along with 19 others continue to remain under drought watch, including nearby Carbon and Schuylkill counties.
DEP says residents in these counties are asked to continue voluntarily conserving water and to reduce their individual water use by 5-10%, or around three to six gallons per day.
A list of tips on how to conserve water at home is available on the department’s website.
DEP Acting Secretary Ramez Ziadeh said in a statement that while significant recent rainfall has helped, groundwater and some public water supply levels remain lower than normal ranges in some areas of the state.
The drought watch was originally declared on Aug. 31 for 36 counties, covering most of the eastern half of Pennsylvania, due to very dry conditions over the summer.
DEP says it assesses information on public water supply levels as well as data on four indicators – precipitation, surface water flow, groundwater level, and soil moisture – to determine drought conditions.
(Original air-date: 10/19/22)
