Current Drought Declaration Status
Current Status
After the October 10, 2025 meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force, a Drought Watch has been issued for 4 counties in the Commonwealth.
Carbon, Franklin, Fulton, and Juniata Counties are now under a drought watch.
This brings the total number of counties under Drought Watch to 29
The total list of counties in Drought Watch include: Beaver, Bradford, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Carbon, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Schuylkill, Somerset, Tioga, Venango, Warren, and Washington
Other areas of the Commonwealth may also be experiencing localized drought issues.
Residents should always pay attention to any information they receive from their local water supplier. Varying localized conditions may lead water suppliers or municipalities to ask residents to continue conservation measures.
The Department always encourages residents to voluntarily conserve nonessential water use.
See the list below for current conservation measures applied by public water suppliers as well as some water conservation tips.
How Drought Declarations are Made in Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth Drought Coordinator manages drought-related activities and monitors drought conditions statewide. Drought watch and warning are informational declarations issued by the Coordinator with input from the Drought Task Force. Drought emergency declarations, which have mandatory conservation requirements, follow a similar process but require final approval by the Governor.
Drought declarations are not based on a single factor. DEP considers four key indicators:
stream flow, groundwater levels, precipitation, and soil moisture. Each has an established normal range. Declarations are made after assessing how far conditions have deviated from normal over the past 3 to 12 months. More information on how different indicators are used can be found on the Drought Monitoring Tools and Links page (link to page)
One of the most important sources of ground truth are public water suppliers who have the best understanding of their sources. DEP frequently reaches out to suppliers to report on dry conditions in their respective service areas.
- Audubon Water Co (1460055), Montgomery County
- Doylestown Boro Water(Dbwd) (1090081), Bucks County
- Indian Lake Camp Corp (7280055), Franklin County
- Irvona Muni Auth (6170025), Clearfield County
- Lykens Boro Auth (7220022), Dauphin County
- Mercersburg Boro Auth (7280021), Franklin County
- Mont Alto Muni Auth (7280040), Franklin County
- Pa Amer Water Co Glen Alsace Dist (3060088), Berks County
- Rolling Hills Estates (7210013), Cumberland Couny
- Brady Twp Water Assn (6170036), Clearfield County
- Clearfield Muni Auth (6170008), Clearfield County
- Conemaugh Twp Muni Auth (4560048), Somerset County
- Driftwood Boro (6120001), Cameron County
- Galeton Boro Water Auth (6530010), Potter County
- Mt Gretna Auth (7380024), Lebanon County
- Pa Amer Water Co Berwick Dist (4190013), Columbia County
- Pa Amer Water Co Boggs (4140101), Centre County
- Pa Amer Water Co Golden Oaks Res Dist (3060126), Berks County
- Pa Amer Water Co Hershey Dist (7220017), Dauphin County
- Pa Amer Water Co Lake Heritage Dist (7010035), Adams County
- Pa Amer Water Co Mcewensville (4490298), Northumberland County
- Pa Amer Water Co Mechanicsburg Dist (7210029), Cumberland County
- Pa Amer Water Co Nittany (4140081), Centre County
- Pa Amer Water Co Norristown Dist (1460046), Montgomery County
- Pa Amer Water Co Penn Dist (3060069), Berks County
- Pa Amer Water Co Philipsburg Moshannon Dist (4140087), Centre County
- Pa Amer Water Co Royersford Dist (1150166), Montgomery County
- Pa Amer Water Co Turbotville Sys (4490016), Northumberland County
- Pa Amer Water Co White Deer Dist (4490023), Northumberland County
- Pa Amer Water Steelton (7220036), Dauphin County
- Palmerton Municipal Water Authority (3130012), Carbon County
- Roulette Twp Water Auth (6530007), Potter County
- Shippensburg Boro Auth (7210043), Cumberland County
- Stewartstown Boro Water Auth (7670062), York County
- Westover Muni Auth (6170040), Clearfield County
Contact
Jason Minnich
Commonwealth Drought Coordinator
jaminnich@pa.gov
Questions from media:
Email ra-epnews@pa.gov
Questions from all others:
Email: droughtinfo@pa.gov
Phone: 717-772-4048
Water Conservation Tips for Social Media
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