Frankfort, KY — The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet and the Office of the State Climatologist, in coordination with the Kentucky drought mitigation team, have issued a Level 2 drought declaration for 78 counties and a Level 1 declaration for 42 counties. A Level 2 drought declaration has been issued for areas in eastern, central and parts of western Kentucky and could lead to substantial agricultural losses, diminished stream flows in small streams and rivers and increases in the occurrence of wildfires. If drought conditions persist, it is expected that some water utilities will have difficulties treating water and may begin issuing conservation advisories or implementing water-use restrictions due to limited water supplies. A Level 1 drought declaration has been issued for areas in western and northeastern Kentucky. The Commonwealth has been experiencing unprecedented dryness, with most locations recording little to no precipitation during the month of September. This lack of precipitation, combined with record heat, has led to rapidly deteriorating conditions. The Kentucky Division of Water continues to monitor all the state’s water systems and their sources of supply, including notifying the public of any changes that may lead to water shortages. The forecast shows relief from the record heat beginning later this week, but the long-term outlooks indicates below-normal precipitation for the next 30 days.