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Conservation Tips

July 27, 1999, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Swatara Creek Watershed Association held a joint press conference to educate the public about our water supply and ways to conserve water during the current drought situation, and beyond.

Mike Steiner, DEP South-central Regional Director; Jo Ellen Litz, SCWA president and Lebanon County Commissioner; Representative Ed Krebs; Betty Conner, SCWA secretary; and Kyle Smith, Annville Township supervisor and member of the Quittapahilla Watershed Association, explained the current drought situation using the Lebanon Water Authority intake as a back-drop.

The Siegrist Dam is down eight feet.  Fifteen feet is the warning stage and thirty-five feet is an emergency situation.  A typical reservoir is an inverted cone shape.  Therefore, considerably more water is stored in the surface footage when at capacity than when the water table is low.  The point is, without rain, the water level of the reservoir will drop more quickly, and we must act now to conserve water. 

Conservation methods adopted today can lead to a life-time of conservation.  For example, inexpensive low-flow shower heads or aerating kitchen faucets can reduce water consumption by 50%.  A water displacement device made from an empty soda bottle with a screw-on cap, label removed, and weighted with stones or water can be placed in your toilet tank to save a gallon of water on every flush.  Old bricks, that can drop sediment and cause a permanent leak at your seal, are not recommended.

Water is like liquid gold, sometimes even more precious than gold.  Please do your part to conserve water today and every day.

For more information visit DEP's web site.

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