During the drought of 1999 the stream bed (at Pleasant Spring Creek (next to the Dairy Queen) was absolutely dry.		Here is a similar view of Pleasant Spring Creek after a heavy rain on May 24, 2000.

NATURAL PHENOMENA

Natural phenomenon can effect any community. In particular, with the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek running the length of the towns of Perkasie and Sellersville, the rise and fall of the water can effect businesses and homeowners in significant ways. On this section of the web site we will examine the effects of the flooding and drought on the community during 1999. This is not the first major flood or drought the community has experienced; it was also hit with a major flood in 1996 and several earlier floods. We choose these recent events that children will remember to document their impact and show how they effected peoples lives.

DROUGHT OF 1999

In the summer of 1999 a drought swept through all of Pennsylvania. A drought emergency began on July 20 restricted residents from watering lawns, washing cars, and filling swimming pools and fountains as well as other regulations.

Many families who are not on public water systems were extremely careful to limit water use. Runoff from showers, bath water, and dishwater might be recycled for use with toilet flushing or plant watering. Cold water was captured in buckets while waiting for the hot water run through the plumbing. Shower head minimizers and toilet dams were installed in many homes. Others cut back on the length of showers or other activities that used water.

Many local school fields were off limits to sports due to the condition of the fields (baseball, field hockey, soccer, and football).

View from dry stream bed of Pleasant Spring Creek toward Constitution Avenue Bridge and the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek.		Many ponds on local properties totally dried up. This pond in West Rockhill shows the typical dry bed of a pond.

FARMERS

Because of this drought Bucks County farmers lost about 90 percent of their crops. Farmers asked for direct state and and federal cash grants to bail them out of the worst drought to ever hit this region. Darrell Tribue, executive director of the county division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, estimated in excess of 300,000 acres were lost. The hardest hit crops at 90% loss were field corn, corn silage, soybeans, and hay. Vegetables were listed at 70 % loss, pasture 60 %, fruits 50 %, grapes 45 % and sod 35 %.

DAIRY FARMERS

Many dairy farmers in this area experienced major difficulties due to the drought. When a dairy farmer's well dries up some farmers can turn to a municipal water source. At the bulk rate of $3.00 per 1,000 gallons of water (Dublin, PA) many farmers found it too expensive to survive the drought. The expense was excessive for a herd of Clifford Moyer's (Dublin/Bedminster) cows drank over 113,000 gallons of water each month. Moyer was given permission to dig his well deeper.

A second problem for dairy farmers was that with reduced water available, the cows didn't produce enough milk, which also left the farmers short on money.