UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Most of the slow-moving, drenching rainstorms that slogged through Pennsylvania during the last two months somehow missed the southeastern corner of the state where a drought persists, according to an expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Fourteen southeastern and southcentral counties are still under a state-declared drought emergency, according to Bryan Swistock, water resources extension specialist. They include Bedford, Fulton, Franklin, Cumberland, Adams, York, Lancaster, Chester, Delaware, Berks, Lackawanna, Schuylkill, Lehigh and Northampton.

Three eastern counties face a drought warning -- Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia -- and seven others are listed under a drought watch: Perry, Dauphin, Luzerne, Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne. Although most of the state has recovered from what appeared to be a dire water supply situation in April, the southeast continues to face a shortage of groundwater.

"Obviously in central Pennsylvania, and in most of the state, we have had an exceptionally wet two months," says Swistock. "We have had more than our share of rain here, and even some flooding, but in some southeastern counties, precipitation has been slightly below normal. Groundwater levels in some southeastern counties remain dangerously low."

Normally very little recharge of groundwater occurs during summer because trees and other plants soak up precipitation. So there is little likelihood that groundwater supply shortages will be eased before fall at the earliest.

"In much of the rest of the state this spring, we had groundwater recharge well into May, which is unusual because recharge usually stops in early May when the leaves come out," Swistock says. "But we had extremely wet weather. In the southeastern counties, they had some rain, but there was not much recharge. However, many surface water supply reservoirs filled."

Many wells in the southeast are at all-time lows, notes Swistock, and levels likely will drop through the expected hot, dry summer. "Anytime you have a drought emergency declaration, you have a very serious situation," he says. "People need to be extremely careful how they use water. Predictions are for very little recovery in the southeastern corner of the state. The focus of the drought has changed. It is now confined to the southeast and to groundwater."

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EDITORS: Bryan Swistock can be contacted at 814-863-0194 or brs@psu.edu.

Contact: Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax #196