Berks County drought brings first mandatory water limits

Some Berks County residents are now under mandatory water restrictions for the first time this drought. The Reading Area Water Authority has declared a drought emergency for its North Heidelberg system and ordered those customers to cut their water use by 15%. The order bans a list of nonessential uses: watering lawns and other outdoor areas, watering golf courses, washing vehicles or paved surfaces, filling or topping off pools, and serving water in restaurants unless a customer asks for it.

The emergency applies only to RAWA's North Heidelberg system, which serves customers in North Heidelberg Township. It does not cover the rest of the county or RAWA's much larger Reading system. The authority delivered the notices to affected customers' doors late last week, 69 News reported. The system runs on local wells, and those wells are running low. "Our aquifers are low, our wells are struggling to keep up," a RAWA representative told 69 News.

This is a step most Berks water users have not reached. The county as a whole remains under a state drought warning, one stage below an emergency, and that countywide request is still voluntary. A water utility can impose its own mandatory limits on its customers whenever its local supply is threatened, without waiting for the state to act. RAWA's North Heidelberg wells hit that point first.

The countywide picture: a drought warning

On June 29, Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Drought Task Force raised Berks from a drought watch to the more serious warning level, and the state Department of Environmental Protection is now asking every household in the county to cut its water use by 10% to 15%. Countywide, the reduction is voluntary. No statewide mandatory restrictions are in place, but the county has moved one step closer to them, and its first utility has now gone further on its own.

Berks is one of eight counties at the warning level, along with Chester, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Lehigh. DEP pointed to continued dry weather and worsening groundwater conditions across southeastern Pennsylvania.

What a drought warning means

Pennsylvania uses three drought stages. Each one asks for more.

1. A watch is the first stage. Residents are asked to voluntarily cut water use by 5% to 10%.
2. A warning, where Berks sits now, asks for a voluntary 10% to 15% cut.
3. An emergency is the last stage. Only the governor can declare it, and it is the point at which the state can impose mandatory restrictions with penalties for violations.

That statewide emergency is a different thing from the "drought emergency" a single water company can declare for its own system, like the one RAWA issued for North Heidelberg. A utility can order mandatory cuts for its own customers when its supply runs short. The governor's declaration is the one that would apply countywide.

A state watch and a state warning are informational. The state is asking residents and businesses to conserve, not ordering it. That changes only if conditions get bad enough for the governor's emergency declaration, or if your own water supplier sets its own limits.

DEP decides the stage by tracking four measurements across a region: how much rain has fallen, how much water is flowing in streams, how high groundwater sits, and how much moisture is in the soil. When three of the four run low for long enough, the county moves up a stage.

What residents are asked to do

The state's request is to trim nonessential water use. DEP and water utilities suggest the same short list:

1. Run dishwashers and clothes washers only with full loads.
2. Water lawns and gardens only when needed, and only in the early morning or evening so less evaporates.
3. Check toilets, faucets, and pipes for leaks and fix them. A running toilet can waste hundreds of gallons a day.
4. Sweep sidewalks and driveways with a broom instead of hosing them off.
5. Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or scrubbing dishes.

If a water company serves your home

Which rules apply depends on who supplies your water. On the North Heidelberg system, the 15% cut is now mandatory, and the nonessential uses listed above are barred until RAWA lifts the order. RAWA says it will notify those customers when the restriction ends. If you are unsure whether your home is on that system, check the notice left at your door or contact the authority.

Pennsylvania American Water, one of the largest suppliers in Berks, asked its customers in nine counties, Berks among them, to voluntarily reduce nonessential use by 10% to 15% starting July 10. For an average household that is about 11 to 16 gallons a day. The company said its supplies are currently adequate. "Our sources of supply are currently adequate to meet the needs of our customers, but we want to prepare for the potential for more severe conditions," said Brandy Braun, its director of water quality and environmental compliance.

If your water comes from Pennsylvania American Water or another municipal authority, watch your bill and the supplier's website for conservation notices and any mandatory limits it sets. If you draw from a private well, the same DEP guidance applies, and a warning is a good time to watch your well's recovery and avoid heavy outdoor use.

Some municipalities have added their own rules. Bern Township posted a local burn ban on July 1 that bars open burning while the dry spell holds. Check your township or borough for any burn ban before lighting a fire pit or brush pile.

The countywide drought stage is a state matter, not something the county commissioners control, and the mandatory limits on North Heidelberg are RAWA's own. For who runs what in local government, see our guide to how Berks County government works. Water demand is also part of the debate over the data centers several Berks townships are now writing rules for, since the largest of those facilities can draw heavily on local water and power.

What to watch

1. Whether other suppliers follow RAWA. A voluntary request from your water company can become a required restriction if supplies tighten. Those notices come from the supplier, not the state.
2. Whether the state warning holds or worsens. DEP has signaled it may expand the warning to more counties near the southeast. The next step up, a governor-declared emergency, is the one that brings mandatory limits countywide.
3. Local burn bans. More municipalities may add them as the dry weather continues.

You can check the current status for Berks and every other Pennsylvania county on DEP's drought information page. We will update this report as more suppliers act or the county moves to a state emergency.