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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    The Commonwealth Drought Coordinator manages drought-related activities and monitors drought conditions statewide. Drought watch and warning declarations are determined by the Coordinator and other DEP staff, with support of the Drought Task Force. Drought emergency declarations follow a similar process and are given final approval by the Governor.

    Current Drought Declaration Status

    Pennsylvania drought condition monitoring indicators provided by the U.S. Geological Survey can be found here(opens in a new tab).

    Drought declarations aren't based on one indicator alone. DEP makes drought watch, warning, or emergency declaration recommendations based on four numeric indicators: stream flow, groundwater level, precipitation, and soil moisture. There are normal ranges for all four indicators. DEP makes its drought declarations after assessing the departures from these normal ranges for periods of 3-12 months. DEP also factors in information it receives from public water suppliers.

    Drought Announcements

    After the April 2, 2025, meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force a drought watch has been lifted for six counties but remains in place for twenty-seven counties.

    Beaver, Butler, Clearfield, Indiana, Somerset, and Westmoreland Counties have returned to normal status.

    Adams, Allegheny, Bucks, Carbon, Chester,  Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Washington, and York Counties remain in drought watch.

    Schuylkill County’s status has been changed from drought warning to drought watch.

    Drought warning will continue for Berks County. 

    Residents on drought warning are encouraged to reduce their individual water use by 10 to 15 percent, or a reduction of six to nine gallons of water per day. 

    Varying localized conditions may lead water suppliers or municipalities to ask residents for more stringent conservation actions.

    Residents on drought watch are encouraged, but not required, to voluntarily reduce their water use by five to ten percent.

    See the list below for current conservation measures applied by public water suppliers as well as some water conservation tips.

    Previous Press Releases

    Contact

    Jason Minnich
    Commonwealth Drought Coordinator

    Questions from media: Email ra-epnews@pa.gov
    Questions from all others:
    Phone: 717-772-4048
    Email: droughtinfo@pa.gov


    Water Conservation Tips for Social Media

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    Water Conservation Tips