The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a statewide drought watch.
Residents and businesses are encouraged to voluntarily conserve water by reducing their nonessential water use.
Residents and businesses are encouraged to reduce their nonessential water use by 5–10%.
The DEP had these suggestions for water conservation:
- Run the dishwasher and washing machine less often and only with full loads.
- Don’t let the faucet run while brushing your teeth or shaving. Take shorter showers.
- Water your lawn only if necessary. Avoid watering on windy and hot days. Watering grass lightly and efficiently will encourage healthier, deeper grass roots. Overwatering is wasteful, encourages fungal growth and disease and results in shallow, compacted root systems that are more susceptible to drought.
- When mowing your lawn, set the blades 2-3 inches high. Longer grass shades the soil, improving moisture retention.
- Water your garden less often. If necessary, water only in the cooler evening or morning hours, and direct the water to the ground at the base of the plant. Focus on new plantings, which have shallow root systems. Older plants may endure dry conditions longer.
- Skip the car washing. If you have to wash your car, it’s better environmentally to go to a drive-through car wash that recycles the water.
- Sweep your sidewalk, deck or driveway instead of hosing it off.
- Check for and repair household leaks. For example, a leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water daily.
- Set up a rain barrel to be ready to repurpose rain when it does fall. For helpful information, see this Penn State Extension guide. Or just set out a bucket to capture water in the event of rain and reuse it to water plants or the bird bath.
At this time, 18 public water suppliers are asking for voluntary water conservation in their communities.
