The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has declared a statewide drought watch and Penn State is asking all members of the University community to follow the voluntary practices outlined below:
-- Report all dripping faucets, showers, and continuously running or leaking toilets. At University Park, call the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) service desk at (814) 865-4731. Others should contact their local OPP staff. Those drips add up: one drip per second equals 3,000 gallons a year.
-- Wash only full loads of clothing and dishes.
-- Reduce shower time. (Showers use between five and seven gallons of water per minute.)
-- Do not use running water to melt ice or frozen foods.
-- Do not run water while shaving, brushing teeth or washing dishes by hand.
-- Refrigerate tap water to avoid running the faucet to get cold water.
-- Turn off unnecessary water flows and shut down water-cooled laboratory equipment when not in use.
A drought watch is the lowest of three levels of drought status, asking for a 5 percent reduction in water use by residents. The next stage, a drought warning, calls for a voluntary reduction of 10 percent to 15 percent. A drought emergency, the final stage, includes mandatory water use reductions of at least 15 percent. Pennsylvania's last declared drought emergency was in 2002. It is hoped that sufficient voluntary reduction of current water usage will diminish the need for more stringent restrictions later. If conditions do not improve, the University could begin mandatory water conservation measures. Faculty, staff and students are asked to help by conserving now.
More information on drought conditions, as well as real-time monitoring of drought indicators, is available on the DEP Web site at http://www.depweb.state.pa.us online, Keyword: "Drought."