Eastern Pennsylvania entered September with drought conditions intensifying. On September 5th Governor Mark Schweiker added Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties to the drought emergency list. These counties joined most of Eastern Pennsylvania under this status with mandatory watering restrictions in place. Residents were required to conserve water by 15 percent and could face penalties for violating regulations. Only Carbon and Monroe Counties were in drought watch status. The Delaware River Basin Commission, which oversees water supply throughout the Delaware River Basin declared a "drought" on December 3, 2001 when the supply of water in the New York City reservoir system dropped below a designated level for early December. The commission declared a drought emergency on December 18, 2001. Both triggered additional reductions in the amount of water released from the reservoirs into the Delaware River and the amount diverted out of the Delaware River Basin to New York City and New Jersey. Diversions to New York City dropped from 800 million gallons a day to 520 million gallons a day.  The emergency declaration gave the commission the power to restrict the amount of water suppliers could draw from the basin. It gave the commission the authority to take water from municipal reservoirs to maintain river levels. It could also call for water releases from federal, state and privately owned reservoirs. Water from Lake Nockamixon, the F.E. Walter Reservoir and Lake Wallenpaupack could be used to maintain river levels. Releases from the F.E. Walter Dam were reduced to one-third of normal to save water. They were last used for this purpose in the 1960s. The releases help protect the riverbank and aquatic life and also prevents salt water from flowing up the Delaware River. Salt water intrusion causes corrosion problems for industries and increases water treatment costs for municipalities that depend on the river for their water supply. Maintaining river levels are also important for groundwater reserves that are recharged by the river itself.  Due to the dry summer, the salt front went from mile marker 85 north to mile marker 89, ten miles farther upstream than is normal for September. The emergency declaration also gives the commission the power to request that utilities and other companies that use more than one million gallons of water a day to prepare contingency plans to use less water and submit the plans to the commission. September saw the return of normal to wetter than normal precipitation across Eastern Pennsylvania. This came too late to help farmers throughout the state. It was estimated that the drought will cost farmers about 300 million dollars across the state. The projected corn harvest should be 30 percent below levels of last year and soybeans were expected to be down about 25 percent. Dairy farmers were pinched on both sides. Milk prices were depressed and feed prices were rising because of the drought.  Fifty-four of the sixty-seven counties in the state have filed for federal agricultural disaster relief. In urban and suburban locations lawn maintenance and landscaping renovation personnel were hit the hardest. Consumers shied away from purchasing new vegetation and believed they had no way to water them. On a county weighted average September monthly precipitation totals ranged from 3.7 inches in Delaware County to 6.3 inches in Carbon County. More precipitation fell from the south to the north. Normal monthly precipitation is around 3.9 inches. The New York City Reservoirs which feed the Delaware River decreased for 59.7 percent of capacity on September 1st to 50.4 percent of capacity on October 1st. On September 30th, the salt front on the Delaware River was about ten miles farther upstream (mile marker 89) than normal. For the month streamflow on the Delaware, Schuylkill and Lehigh Rivers was about 75 percent of  normal. September monthly precipitation was 3.46 inches at the Reading Regional Airport, 4.04 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport and 3.67 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Drought in BERKS, PENNSYLVANIA
From 01-SEP-02 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-02 23:59:00 (EST)
Property damage: 0
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought in BUCKS, PENNSYLVANIA
From 01-SEP-02 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-02 23:59:00 (EST)
Property damage: 0
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought in CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA
From 01-SEP-02 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-02 23:59:00 (EST)
Property damage: 0
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought in DELAWARE, PENNSYLVANIA
From 01-SEP-02 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-02 23:59:00 (EST)
Property damage: 0
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought in LEHIGH, PENNSYLVANIA
From 01-SEP-02 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-02 23:59:00 (EST)
Property damage: 0
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought in PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
From 01-SEP-02 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-02 23:59:00 (EST)
Property damage: 0
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought in MONTGOMERY, PENNSYLVANIA
From 01-SEP-02 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-02 23:59:00 (EST)
Property damage: 0
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought in NORTHAMPTON, PENNSYLVANIA
From 01-SEP-02 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-02 23:59:00 (EST)
Property damage: 0
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL