Drought conditions in Bucks, Montgomery counties, national monitor shows

Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection has yet to declare a drought watch, but parts of Bucks and Montgomery counties are currently experiencing moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. And some municipalities are already sounding the alarm.

Horsham's water supply is "struggling," said Tina O'Rourke of the Horsham Water and Sewer Authority, and it may have to implement mandatory water restrictions soon.

"Everybody’s grass is dead and I get it that they want to water lawns, but it’s just putting a real strain on the water system," O'Rourke said.

Horsham relies primarily on ground water from wells, some of which remain out of service due to contamination from PFAS, a group of "forever chemicals" linked to cancer and other diseases. Horsham Water and Sewer Authority urged residents Thursday to conserve water "due to the extended heat and dry spell."

The North Wales Water Authority has issued a similar notice, asking residents to conserve water.

Towns including Willow Grove, Conshohocken, Bensalem and Bristol are experiencing moderate drought conditions. The rest of both counties are rated "abnormally dry," one step below drought on the federal drought scale. Most of Chester County is in drought.

The state uses different metrics than the national drought monitor to assess drought conditions. While the federal intiative pulls data from NOAA, the USDA, and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection uses U.S. Geologic Survey data, as well as information from public water systems.

The state uses four indicators to determine drought: stream flow, groundwater level, precipitation, and soil moisture. The U.S. Geological Survey's drought monitor, which the state uses to assess drought, currently notes low preciptation in Montgomery County and low groundwater level in Bucks County, but has placed neither county on drought watch.

A spokesperson from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources reminded residents to be aware of wildfire risk ahead of the July 4th holiday. "Because it has been drier and because 99% of wildfires in Pennsylvania are caused by humans, we do encourage people to be mindful," he said.

The observed fire risk for southeastern Pennsylvania was moderate on Wednesday, the most recent date for which data was available. The region also experienced drought conditions last summer.