Drought Information

The following changes were made after the Commonwealth Drought Task Force met on June 29, 2026:

• Counties with drought declaration worsened from Watch to Warning: Berks, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh

Recovery in southeastern Pennsylvania has been limited, and some areas continue to worsen. Several counties that showed improvement last month have shown declines. For this reason, we are recommending expanding the Drought Warning to four additional counties bordering the southeastern region.

Many areas of Pennsylvania still need significant recovery, so Drought Watch and Drought Warning declarations remain in effect for many other counties.

Other areas of the Commonwealth may also be experiencing localized drought issues. Residents should always follow information they receive from their local water supplier. Varying localized conditions may lead water suppliers or municipalities to ask residents to continue conservation measures. Residents are encouraged to voluntarily conserve nonessential water use.

See current conservation measures applied by public water suppliers below.

11 counties currently in Drought Watch: Adams, Bedford, Blair, Bucks, Dauphin, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia, York

8 counties currently in Drought Warning: Berks, Chester, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh

48 counties currently in Normal Status: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bradford, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montour, Northumberland, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming

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.

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.

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

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