Due to the ongoing drought in Schuylkill County, many residents are being asked to conserve water.
Schuylkill County Municipal Authority urged customers in the Pottsville area on Wednesday to abide by a voluntary water conservation request until further notice. The message was posted on the Municipal Authority’s Facebook page and a robocall was delivered to all customers.
According to Troy Miller, the Environmental Manager at SCMA, the request to conserve water is based on the lack of rain in Schuylkill County and the remaining capacity of the reservoirs where it gets its water.
Recent reporting by The Canary, citing National Weather Service data, shows that Schuylkill County last received at least one-quarter inch of rain on a single date in late-September and the time before that was in the middle of August.
A few days ago, the state’s Drought Task Force placed Schuylkill County in a Drought Warning.
“We’re definitely feeling the effects of low precipitation, for sure,” Miller said Wednesday.
The decision to implement a voluntary water conservation order alert, according to Miller, is based on system demand and usage.
The inclusion of Pottsville in the water conservation request on Wednesday was part of a phased implementation, he said. Previous requests, which are still in effect, were made to customers in Saint Clair, those served by the Mount Laurel Water System, Pine Grove Township, Pinebrook Water System, and Tremont.
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