{"id":42240,"date":"2025-11-23T09:40:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T09:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/42240\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T09:40:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T09:40:09","slug":"lehigh-county-water-supplier-asks-customers-to-cut-use-by-5-amid-persistent-dry-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/42240\/","title":{"rendered":"Lehigh County water supplier asks customers to cut use by 5% amid persistent dry conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lehigh County Authority<\/a> has declared a drought watch and is urging its approximately 270,000 customers to voluntarily reduce water consumption by at least 5% in response to ongoing dry conditions across the region.<\/p>\n

The public water utility issued the drought watch as below-average rainfall has slowed groundwater recharge and diminished stream flows in local watersheds. While the water system remains safe and reliable, the measure aims to protect long-term water availability if dry conditions extend into winter and early spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not facing an immediate water shortage, but current conditions call for early, thoughtful action,\u201d Liesel Gross, the authority\u2019s chief executive officer, said in a statement Friday. \u201cA small reduction of just 5% across our system can make a meaningful difference in preserving supply, maintaining system pressure, and ensuring reliable service to all customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Precipitation totals at Lehigh Valley International Airport have been running 46% below normal since Sept. 1 and nearly 20% below normal since Jan. 1, with deficits dating through fall 2024, according to National Weather Service climate data<\/a>. For all of 2025 so far, the total precipitation includes 10.45 inches of rain that fell in May \u2014 186% of normal precipitation for that one month.<\/p>\n

The authority recommends customers limit lawn watering and irrigation as plants enter dormancy, repair dripping faucets and running toilets, and turn off water supplies to outdoor spigots no longer in use. Other conservation steps include running dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads, taking shorter showers, turning off taps while brushing teeth, and using commercial car washes that recycle water instead of washing vehicles at home.<\/p>\n

Outdoor water use continues to drive overall demand in many areas even late in the season, according to the authority.<\/p>\n

The drought watch does not impose mandatory restrictions. The authority will continue monitoring rainfall, groundwater levels, and stream flows with state and regional partners. Additional conservation measures may be recommended if dry conditions persist.<\/p>\n

Customers can find conservation tips and drought updates at the authority\u2019s website, lehighcountyauthority.org<\/a>, or on its social media<\/a> channels.<\/p>\n

Generative AI was used to draft this story, based on information provided by Lehigh County Authority. It was reviewed and edited by Advance Local.<\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lehigh County Authority has declared a drought watch and is urging its approximately 270,000 customers to voluntarily reduce…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-42240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}