2007 News

October 9, 2007

Commissioners Urge Voluntary Water Conservation Awareness

Despite today’s rain, the Board of Bucks County Commissioners – in conjunction with Bucks County Emergency Services Director John D. Dougherty – remind all residents that a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) drought watch remains in effect.

According to Commissioner Chairman Charles H. Martin, simple measures such as taking a car to an automated car wash rather than hand-washing the car with a hose, and using a hand-held hose rather than watering lawns with a sprinkler can make a tangible difference in water-supply levels.

“We want to advise all Bucks Countians that if they conserve water now, we have a much greater chance to avoid going to mandatory restrictions if the drought conditions persist,” Dougherty noted.

Last Friday, Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty added Bucks County to a list of 52 other Pennsylvania counties that are under drought watch. The watch calls for a voluntary five percent reduction in non-essential water use.

Commissioners Martin, James F. Cawley, Esq., and Sandra A. Miller, Chief Operating Officer David M. Sanko and Dougherty caution all residents that today’s precipitation is not the type of soaking event that will remove the drought watch.