HARRISBURG — After a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday returned to normal status the final counties on drought watch: Center, Clearfield, and Clinton.
Hydrologic conditions are now normal statewide. Drought watch or warning conditions began in mid-August and expanded during the fall, affecting a total of 30 counties.
DEP bases its drought declarations on four numeric indicators. The agency gets stream flow and groundwater level data from a statewide network of gauges maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, DEP monitors precipitation and soil moisture. DEP also factors in information it receives from public water suppliers on their reserves and operations.
