BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Things aren’t as dry as they seem in Northampton County.
The region has recently been removed from a drought watch.
- The region recently was removed from a drought watch designation the state Department of Environmental Protection instituted in August
- Pennsylvania monitors several drought indicators statewide
- Monocacy Creek in Bethlehem is one place stream flow is monitored to determine a drought
The state Department of Environmental Protection last week lifted a drought watch for five counties that had been in place since late August and originally included 36 counties across Eastern Pennsylvania.
The watch has been gradually lifted since it was issued, with 16 counties getting out in October and 15 others recovering in December.
DEP Drought Coordinator Susan K. Weaver explained why the state might issue a drought watch.
“We follow a drought watch, drought warning, drought emergency type of action — drought watch being the most mild," Weaver said. "We want to alert the public that it's dry.
"And that if you haven't noticed, we want you to notice, and we want people to pay attention to how much water they're using.”
What makes a drought?
But what actually constitutes a drought can be hard to understand for the layman, as it takes so many factors.
“Pennsylvania monitors different indicators statewide," Weaver said. "We look at precipitation departures, streamflow, groundwater levels and soil moisture. In addition, we look at our public water suppliers and their ability to deliver water to the public.
"We look at precipitation departures, streamflow, groundwater levels and soil moisture. In addition, we look at our public water suppliers and their ability to deliver water to the public."<br/>DEP Drought Coordinator Susan K. Weaver
“That information is monitored with gauges that the USGS [United States Geological Survey] has across the state. So we look at that information daily. And when conditions go dry, we start to see our indicators to start giving us alerts.”
One of the places at which stream flow is measured is Monocacy Creek in Bethlehem.
Michael Harrington, president of the Monocacy Creek Watershed Association, said droughts are not simple events.
“We saw the water flows reduced," Harrington said. "And that does have a kind of a cascading effect with the life of the creek and, in essence, the macroinvertebrates that live within the water, and then the vegetation, and the fauna that lives kind of around the water. All are affected by the ebb and flow of the creek.
“When water gets reduced, the vegetation is negatively affected, that's reliant on the water, and there is some stress. And then sometimes there's death in terms of plantings.
“As it relates to the macro invertebrates, the water warms, because there's less flow. And when that happens, it causes, again, stress to the critical life that exists within the creek itself. You know, from trout, the fish itself, all the way down to the mayflies and the microinvertebrates as well.”
The effects of drought
The effects extend beyond life in the creek as well, Harrington said.
“When things are in a drought phase, things dry up, and what normally is moist soil can turn very dry and very brittle," he said. "So that if you get a surge from a storm, that's going to wash away a lot more easily than if it were wet, muddy encased kind of soil.
"So I would say a drought will have a negative impact as it relates to stormwater surge.”
Monocacy Creek Watershed Association is working to combat the effects of erosion from stormwater surges by planting live stakes, or branches that they encourage to root and grow. That keeps the soil from eroding as easily during stormwater surges, as the roots hold together the banks of the creek.
As for whether we should worry about the future of the creek and other bodies of water like it, Weaver said it's hard to say.
“Pennsylvania typically receives 44 inches of rain a year; we certainly do not experience the type of droughts that the western part of the United States receives," he said.
"However, we do cycle in and out of mild droughts, depending upon how much rain we are getting or not getting… Really can't predict the future beyond that.”
