For the first time since 2017, Pennsylvania has had a drought watch declared, and Indiana County is among those that are included.
The Department of Environmental Protection on Friday place sixteen counties in the watch: Indiana and its neighbors Armstrong, Cambria, and Clearfield, along with Blair, Butler, Cameron, Centre, Clinton, Fayette, Huntingdon, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin, Perry, and Potter.
The declaration comes after a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force. residents of the affected counties are asked to voluntarily reduce individual water use by five percent, to sixty gallons per day. the statewide average is sixty-two.
The following clip is from Todd Marino’s interview with Penn State Extension’s Bob Pollock on Indiana in the Morning today.
DEP recommends the following ways to reduce water use:
• Run water only when necessary. Don’t let the faucet run while brushing your teeth or shaving. Shorten the time you let the water run to warm up before showering. 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.
• When watering your garden, be efficient and effective: Water in the evening or morning, and direct the water to the ground at the base of the plant, so you don’t waste water through evaporation.
• Check for household leaks. For example, a leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water daily.
• Replace older appliances with high-efficiency, front-loading models that use about 30 percent less water and 40-50 percent less energy.
• Install low-flow plumbing fixtures and aerators on faucets.
DEP says some water suppliers or municipalities may request more stringent conservation actions. The agency is notifying all water suppliers in affected counties of the need to monitor their supplies. It says some public water systems have already begun voluntary and mandatory water restrictions.
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