There are many reasons why. We will share some fast facts with you here to put this in context.
There will be about 1 billion more mouths to feed worldwide by 2025 and global agriculture alone will require another 1 trillion cubic meters of water per year (equal to the annual flow of 20 Niles or 100 Colorado Rivers).
Pennsylvania Declares Drought Conditions in 35 Counties
The Pennsylvania Drought Task Force has announced that the counties of Adams, Allegheny, Beaver, Bucks, Butler, Carbon, Chester, Clearfield, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Indiana, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland and York are under a Drought Watch and Berks and Schuylkill counties are under a Drought Warning due to consistent dry conditions, with very little rain over September and October. The Drought Task Force is monitoring other areas of the state.
Click here for a link to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Drought Information page and Drought Map.
Remember, in a drought watch, we should all be seeking to reduce water use by about 5 percent through voluntary conservation measures.
Much of the state is also at high risk for fire danger due to the dry conditions and burning should be done only with extreme caution or avoided altogether.
