Editorial Howdry we are

by Ruth Isenberg

Despite some heavy rains last week, Pennsylvania is under a drought watch. We didn’t get a lot of snow last winter, and we haven’t had consistent rain this spring.

Short hard rains run off. They don’t soak in, and they don’t raise the water table. As we’vwae noted before, they also don’t lessen the risk of forest fires.

The state is doing controlled burns to try to tamp down the risk of forest fires, recently in a section of State Game Lands near the Francis Walter Dam. The public is still being asked to be careful with any kind of burning, though many municipalities have lifted their burn bans.

Similarly, the public is being asked to conserve water. Lawn watering, for example, is discouraged. So are car washes, though if a clean car is important for your work, it’s more environmentally friendly to use a drive-through carwash that recycles its water than to use a hose in your driveway.

Run your dishwasher when it’s full. Do the same for loads of laundry. And shorter showers are suggested. Check for drips and leaks, and if you can’t get drips fixed immediately, collect the water to use for plants or water for your pets.

This is just a drought watch, and it applies to the whole state. Some areas are in worse shape than others. Carbon County is in better shape than Luzerne County, and both are doing better than neighboring Monroe County. A website to monitor conditions can be found at https://pa.water.usgs. gov/apps/drought/

Drought watches can turn into drought warnings, when voluntary conservation measures may be made mandatory. Conserving water is a good practice at any time, but it may become essential if dry conditions continue.