September 22, 2023 11:36 AM
DROUGHT WARNING DECLARED FOR CENTRAL MARYLAND COUNTIES
MDE released an official declaration of a drought warning for central Maryland. The affected counties are Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Howard, and Montgomery Counties. Western Maryland is still in a drought watch (Allegany, Garrett, and Washington counties).
The Town of Thurmont and MDE is encouraging Thurmont water customers, along with other water users throughout the state to take voluntary steps to reduce their water use by 10%-15%. MDE has asked Public water systems take steps to reduce water usage by increasing public awareness, contacting individual industrial users to reduce water usage, and discontinuing flushing water lines. The Town of Thurmont will be following these guidelines effective today. With what appears to be a good bit of rain in the forecast, hopefully this warning is short lived. We will be posting updated information as we receive it.
The MDE website has tips for water conservation for the general public, and for specialized users such as restaurants and commercial buildings. Thank you.