BELL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County is asking nearly 70,000 people to conserve water, saying the Beaver Run Reservoir is reaching dangerously low levels.
That reservoir provides water to customers north of Route 30 in Westmoreland County, as well as some customers in Monroeville and Plum in Allegheny County, and Parks Township and Gilpin Township in Armstrong County.
Dawn Lane has lived next to the Beaver Run Reservoir for more than 15 years. She’s never seen what she’s seeing there this week.
“We’ve never seen the land. Ever,” Lane pointed out. “We’ve never seen it this low, we’ve never seen it go in that way.”
According to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, the reservoir is seven feet lower than what it typically is in November. Matt Junker, a spokesman for the MAWC, said it’s all because of a lack of rain. For November, there’s only been about a third of an inch of rain here -- three inches less than average.
But there’s been a deficit all year.
“Since last year we have received 13.25 inches less precipitation,” Junker said.
There is no drought for Westmoreland County. It’s this specific area that hasn’t gotten enough rain this year. There also wasn’t enough snow last year to help.
“Westmoreland county is more than 650,000 square acres. For rain to fill the Beaver Run Reservoir, it has to fall within about 22,000 square acres to feed the seven streams that fill our reservoir,” Junker told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.
With a lack of rain, the municipal authority is asking nearly 56,000 people in Westmoreland County, and another 24,000 in Allegheny and Armstrong Counties who get their water from this reservoir to conserve as much as they can.
Some tips include turning the faucet off while brushing your teeth, use a sink filled with rinse water while shaving, take short showers instead of baths, and fill a sink with water to pre-rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher -- instead of running the faucet.
These are voluntary restrictions right now -- but if the reservoir drops another foot -- they could issue a mandatory water conservation. That could be enforced by police and could bring citations.
Even though Lane has a well, she hopes people listen so things don’t get worse.
“I don’t think there can be much more water that can disappear from here,” Lane said.
The municipal authority hopes we do get some precipitation here at the reservoir, and they’re optimistic people will voluntarily conserve their water so mandatory water conservation doesn’t have to happen.
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