BRYN MAWR, Pa., June 19, 2002 -- Philadelphia Suburban Water Co. (PSW) reported that rainfall in May and June has brought four of its five reservoirs to full levels and its nine-billion-gallon reservoir system to 83 percent of capacity.
With more rain expected soon, the company believes that the recent actions by Pennsylvania's Governor Mark Schweiker to relax area drought restrictions are appropriate.
Gov. Schweiker recently reduced the severity of the state's drought restrictions in Montgomery and Bucks counties, by upgrading the status to warning from emergency. Under a drought warning designation, mandatory water use restrictions are lifted, and residents are asked to follow less stringent voluntarily conservation measures.
PSW's Vice President, Water Resources Preston Luitweiler said the company's integrated reservoir system ensures customers access to the water they need. "The benefit of reservoirs is that they capture rainfall when it does occur and stores it for use when it is needed most," said Luitweiler. "We are happy that the Governor has lifted drought restrictions for our customers in Montgomery and Bucks counties where we now have ample supplies. Our customers' compliance with the drought emergency restrictions earlier in the year helped us through the unusually dry conditions during the winter and early spring when most groundwater recharge usually occurs."
PSW has asked the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for additional relief from the drought restrictions in certain areas of Chester and Delaware counties where many of the company's 300,000 customers are connected to an integrated water distribution system supplied by the company's reservoir system.
While the drought restrictions were relaxed only for PSW customers in Montgomery and Bucks counties, four of PSW's reservoirs are completely full:
* Green Lane, Montgomery County - the company's largest reservoir - 4.4 billion gallons
* Ironworks, Bucks County - 650 million gallons
* Pickering, Chester County - 375 million gallons
* Airport, Chester County - 195 million gallons
Springton Reservoir in Delaware County, PSW's second largest reservoir, currently holds about two billion gallons, or about 60 percent of its 3.5 billion gallon capacity. In February, Springton had reached a low of 40 percent capacity. Since then, nearly seven inches of rain have added half a billion gallons of water to the reservoir.
While the majority of PSW customers benefit from the nine-billion-gallon reservoir system, some areas not connected to the main distribution system rely solely on groundwater that has not fully recharged. Supplies remain precarious in one system in particular in East and West Brandywine Townships in Chester County, and mandatory restrictions remain in place in those communities.
PSW serves more than one million residents in Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, Bucks and Berks counties.
