diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 68c57fbd..a1f90bcc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -451,7 +451,11 @@ itself.
 
 ### Event: `'drain'`
 
-A `'drain'` event is emitted whenever the `queueSize` reaches `0`.
+A `'drain'` event is emitted when the current usage of the
+pool is below the maximum capacity of the same.
+The intended goal is to provide backpressure to the task source
+so creating tasks that can not be executed at immediately can be avoided.
+
 
 ### Event: `'needsDrain'`
 
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 38ad7780..165b4f8c 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -386,6 +386,17 @@ class AsynchronouslyCreatedResourcePool<
   onAvailable (fn : (item : T) => void) {
     this.onAvailableListeners.push(fn);
   }
+
+  getCurrentUsage (): number {
+    let inFlight = 0;
+    for (const worker of this.readyItems) {
+      const currentUsage = worker.currentUsage();
+
+      if (Number.isFinite(currentUsage)) inFlight += currentUsage;
+    }
+
+    return inFlight;
+  }
 }
 
 type ResponseCallback = (response : ResponseMessage) => void;
@@ -535,12 +546,13 @@ class ThreadPool {
   completed : number = 0;
   runTime : Histogram;
   waitTime : Histogram;
-  needsDrain : boolean;
+  _needsDrain : boolean;
   start : number = performance.now();
   inProcessPendingMessages : boolean = false;
   startingUp : boolean = false;
   closingUp : boolean = false;
   workerFailsDuringBootstrap : boolean = false;
+  maxCapacity: number;
 
   constructor (publicInterface : Piscina, options : Options) {
     this.publicInterface = publicInterface;
@@ -569,11 +581,12 @@ class ThreadPool {
     this.workers = new AsynchronouslyCreatedResourcePool<WorkerInfo>(
       this.options.concurrentTasksPerWorker);
     this.workers.onAvailable((w : WorkerInfo) => this._onWorkerAvailable(w));
+    this.maxCapacity = this.options.maxThreads * this.options.concurrentTasksPerWorker;
 
     this.startingUp = true;
     this._ensureMinimumWorkers();
     this.startingUp = false;
-    this.needsDrain = false;
+    this._needsDrain = false;
   }
 
   _ensureMinimumWorkers () : void {
@@ -907,17 +920,21 @@ class ThreadPool {
   }
 
   _maybeDrain () {
-    const totalCapacity = this.options.maxQueue + this.pendingCapacity();
-    const totalQueueSize = this.taskQueue.size + this.skipQueue.length;
-
-    if (totalQueueSize === 0) {
-      this.needsDrain = false;
-      this.publicInterface.emit('drain');
-    }
-
-    if (totalQueueSize >= totalCapacity) {
-      this.needsDrain = true;
+    /**
+     * Our goal is to make it possible for user space to use the pool
+     * in a way where always waiting === 0,
+     * since we want to avoid creating tasks that can't execute
+     * immediately in order to provide back pressure to the task source.
+     */
+    const { maxCapacity } = this;
+    const currentUsage = this.workers.getCurrentUsage();
+
+    if (maxCapacity === currentUsage) {
+      this._needsDrain = true;
       this.publicInterface.emit('needsDrain');
+    } else if (maxCapacity > currentUsage && this._needsDrain) {
+      this._needsDrain = false;
+      this.publicInterface.emit('drain');
     }
   }
 
@@ -1236,7 +1253,7 @@ class Piscina extends EventEmitterAsyncResource {
   }
 
   get needsDrain () : boolean {
-    return this.#pool.needsDrain;
+    return this.#pool._needsDrain;
   }
 
   static get isWorkerThread () : boolean {
diff --git a/test/post-task.ts b/test/post-task.ts
index 79ce1215..bb69ab25 100644
--- a/test/post-task.ts
+++ b/test/post-task.ts
@@ -98,7 +98,8 @@ test('postTask() validates abortSignal', async ({ rejects }) => {
 
 test('Piscina emits drain', async ({ ok, notOk }) => {
   const pool = new Piscina({
-    filename: resolve(__dirname, 'fixtures/eval.js')
+    filename: resolve(__dirname, 'fixtures/eval.js'),
+    maxThreads: 1
   });
 
   let drained = false;
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ test('Piscina emits drain', async ({ ok, notOk }) => {
     needsDrain = pool.needsDrain;
   });
 
-  await Promise.all([pool.run('123'), pool.run('123')]);
+  await Promise.all([pool.runTask('123'), pool.runTask('123'), pool.runTask('123')]);
 
   ok(drained);
   notOk(needsDrain);