On Saturday the high school chorus group was holding a car wash to raise a few dollars for their program. The kids were about an hour into it, 2 hoses with nozzles when the police came by and had them shut down due to a complaint. The officers were apologetic but had to act due to a compliant. I don’t have anyone in the schools, but what an awful example for the village. We ask the kids to work a task to help their program and then send the police to shut it down.
We should all be very concerned that their are people so miserable and angry in town that they complain about a organized event at the school to raise money.
Why is there no pressure on the water company to build a system that can meets the needs? Why is there no consideration of water use in the proposed increased in area housing? Why are we using village police resources to enforce water rules, seems if they had the time to do this perhaps we should review staffing levels when the water “crisis” is over ?
The “Stage 4 In Effect” notice posted on the Village’s website says NOTHING about a ban on washing vehicles. It addresses IRRIGATION ONLY.
When were we told in writing that washing cars is prohibited?
Stage 4 water restrictions are still in effect.
September 19,2015
Dear Ridgewood Water customers,
Your cooperation with Stage 4 restrictions has started to ease the stress that the water system experienced during this unusually dry summer. Weather forecasts predict that dry conditions will continue, so Stage 4 restrictions will remain in effect until further notice.
No irrigation of any kind is allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.
Irrigation using only a hand-held hose with a spray nozzle is permitted for odd numbered addresses only on Tuesdays and Saturdays and for even numbered addresses only on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Waivers for special circumstances such as irrigating newly planted lawns and shrubs, cleaning cars or houses, and filling swimming pools will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For more information on waivers please call Ridgewood Water at 201-670-5520 or email Customer Service at [email protected].
You can always find the current status of restrictions at our website,water.ridgewoodnj.net. Your patience is greatly appreciated
By Ridgewood Water’s own definitions, our current restrictions are Stage III, not IV.
Ridgewood Water website (https://water.ridgewoodnj.net/) says:
Current Water Restrictions: STAGE IV.
Irrigation using a hand-held hose only is limited to Tuesdays and Saturdays for odd numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for even numbered addresses.
Ridgewood Water’s website also says (click on Water Restrictions, next-to-last bullet point under Resources):
Stage I (Moderate) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. Irrigation using a hand-held hose shall be allowed at any time. No irrigation shall be allowed on Mondays except for the use of a hand held hose.
Stage II (Severe) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to Tuesdays and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. No irrigation shall be allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays except for the use of a hand held hose. Irrigation using a hand held hose shall be allowed at any time.
Stage III (Pending/Critical) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to the use of a hand held hose on Tuesdays and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. No irrigation of any kind shall be allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.
Stage IV (Critical) – Irrigation is prohibited at any time. Exceptions for irrigation using a hand held hose may be allowed under conditions prescribed by the Village Manager of the Village of Ridgewood.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2015, 7:17 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015, 7:19 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Efforts to conserve water supplies are paying off, thanks to last week’s imposition of stringent irrigation restrictions and strict enforcement of those limits, village officials say.
Ridgewood’s village manager, Roberta Sonenfeld, said Wednesday that the measures — including having firefighters cut off water service to 15 homes this past weekend — have been working.
On Saturday, use dipped by 1 million gallons systemwide from the August daily average, Sonenfeld said. On Sunday and Tuesday, water usage was down by 2 million gallons. It dropped by nearly 3 million gallons on Labor Day, the village manager said.
What I find interesting is the ability for the public to fall into a dictated compliance without question. Every year we hear there is a water shortage, every year we hear we need to increase system capacity, every year we hear about lack of compliance.
Do we consider that some of the homes using the water have invested in new landscaping or lawns and may need to water them? How quickly would the town begin to look rundown without a flower in sight? Have we calculated the use of the new apartments and added system capacity or backups to address? Have we added any collection and storage to the system, we had a good amount of snow this past winter, did we store it? Are there any short or long term plans to address this issue other them having neighbors running around looking for the police to ‘rat’ out an neighbor? Seems that if that feels good to anyone, we have a much more serious issue in our neighborhoods
Message from the Village Manager Regarding Stage 4 Enforcement
I have received questions and concerns from several residents regarding the enforcement of Stage 4 restriction. There are ordinances that authorize specific staff in the Village to have the ability to enforce…..I think I mentioned in my E-Notice on Friday that based on Stage 4 and its seriousness, I authorized more staff members to have this capacity. I am hoping that the enhanced enforcement that we had this weekend and the coming days will be more effective than during Stage 2 restrictions. The only way a summons can be written is if the person sees the watering – unfortunately wetness around the area and having a green lawn do not cut it for writing a summons….so we have to be there at the right time. We now have a person dedicated to identifying violators between 4AM through 7AM – a time period that I do not think we were covering adequately…… we also have the RPD out around this time. Our Fire Department was making rounds over the weekend and actually shutting off the water in homes where automated sprinklers were in use if no one was home to shut the water off themselves. The Fire Department will also begin to issue summonses.
It is a bit early to share this news but it does seem to appear that the restrictions are having some impact. On average in August we used 10.2 million gallons per day….yesterday we used 7.2 million. Board of Ed properties as well as Village properties are all in compliance with the restrictions.
From a communications perspective, our first robo call early Friday afternoon was sent to 20,000 phones with 11,000 actually getting it…..we then did a second call in the evening. We do need to extend that list and the team is working on this. Our e-notice went out to about 4,000 email addresses – we have been emphasizing sign up. We also have posted the restrictions on the Village Facebook site, both Village websites (Ridgewood and Ridgewood Water) as well as both tv channels – but these are pull not push means of communicating. We also have posted the restrictions on the movable electronic sign on the west side. I am mentioning this because I think that there is no excuse for anyone not knowing that we are in Stage 4.
Best regards,
Roberta Sonenfeld
Village Manager
201-670-5500, ext. 203
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of obeying these restrictions – this is a public safety issue – our firefighters need to have the necessary water and water pressure to be able to fight fires and we also need to maintain reserves for household use.
As you are aware we have ratcheted up enforcement over the last several weeks issuing over 50 summonses and hundreds of warnings. This has had some impact but unfortunately we need to take this further – so, I have taken the additional step of appointing more Village employees who will have the authority to issue summonses in order to achieve a higher rate of compliance. “Roberta Sonenfeld.Village Manager
Water restrictions could be more effective if the town sent Postal Notice Flyers to all water customers, stage 2 and stage 4, or when Severely Urgent – drive around towns in evenings with loud speakers announcement, as they used to in past years. There are residents who are sincerely not even aware about Stage 4 water restrictions, only by word of mouth by good neighbors. Of course, there will always be those arrogant self entitles who will always defy rules.
* Please take note:
** Reverse Emergency Robo Calls – Not all residents get them, used to, how come? What happened?
** E- Notice – Not all residents get them or sign up.
** Website – Many residents do not refer to.
** Local News Newspaper – Many residents do not subscribe or refer to online.
** Link immediate release notice to BOE school website for more exposure.
** Mention the stiff fine of up to $1,250.00 That Stops Usage Abruptly!!
* Thanks to the Ridgewood Blog for posting – the Stage 4 News Release on Friday 9/4/15
SEPTEMBER 4, 2015, 5:41 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015, 5:58 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Sprinklers will be silenced around the village as dry weather has forced Ridgewood Water to initiate severe restrictions on irrigation.
On Friday, residents in Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Ridgewood learned they could face stiff fines should they opt to use anything other than a handheld hose with a spray nozzle to water their lawns.
Ridgewood Water has imposed its most oppressive restrictions, deeming the situation “critical.”
Related: Hot, dry weather depleting North Jersey drinking water supply
Use of these spray nozzles will be restricted to just two days a week; those with odd numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays and Saturdays with even numbered homes able to irrigate Wednesdays and Sundays.
No irrigation is permitted on Mondays, Thursdays or Fridays until further notice.
According to Ridgewood officials, reserves need to be maintained for household use and for firefighters who’ll need water and enough pressure to fight potential fires.
Due to the very dry conditions that we have experienced over the last few months, we have deemed it necessary to invoke a Stage 4 irrigation ban. Beginning immediately, there will be no irrigation allowed other than using hand-held spray nozzles – these hand-helds can only be used on Tuesdays and Saturdays for odd-numbered houses and Wednesdays and Sundays for even-numbered houses. No irrigation of any kind is allowed on Mondays, Thursdays or Fridays.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of obeying these restrictions – this is a public safety issue – our firefighters need to have the necessary water and water pressure to be able to fight fires and we also need to maintain reserves for household use.
As you are aware we have ratcheted up enforcement over the last several weeks issuing over 50 summonses and hundreds of warnings. This has had some impact but unfortunately we need to take this further – so, I have taken the additional step of appointing more Village employees who will have the authority to issue summonses in order to achieve a higher rate of compliance.
We will continually monitor our water supply. Hopefully we will not need to also ban hand-held watering but this may still be a possibility…..let’s hope for some rain! For up-to-the-minute restriction status, please visit our website at water.ridgewoodnj.net.
It really does take all of us to address these types of problems. Thanks for your help and support,
SEPTEMBER 2, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015, 2:41 PM
BY RICHARD DE SANTA
STAFF WRITER |
GLEN ROCK GAZETTE
Mayor John van Keuren has directed Glen Rock police to begin issuing warnings and subsequent summonses to property owners who do not observe the current Stage 2 watering restrictions imposed last month by Ridgewood Water.
The village-owned utility supplies Ridgewood, Midland Park and Wyckoff in addition to Glen Rock. .
In effect since Aug. 6, the restriction prohibits the use of above and below-ground water sprinkler systems at all properties on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Property owners with odd-numbered addresses are permitted to use the systems on Tuesdays and Saturdays only, while those with even-numbered addresses can irrigate lawns on Wednesdays and Sundays.
There is no restriction against the use of hand-held hoses at any time.
The new arrivals in my neighborhood, pus some here 10-15 years, don’t play by the rules and don’t care, they sprinkler water every day, morning daylight or night time in the cloak of darkness, they are only concerned that they have a nice green lush lawn. They didn’t care about stage 1 restrictions, let alone stage 2, even tho other neighbors mentioned water rules to them, it rolls off their shoulder and it is not important enough and ignored. Yes, they sprinkler water on Monday when no one is to. Shame on them.
…I never got a reverse robo call on water sprinkling rules, used to, but in the know, do follow the rules, use hand held hose and have burned out areas of lawn, it doesn’t grow – no water, no rain, dry hot season, and have the landscaper skip grass cuts at times.
…The town should have sent a postal notice to all customers, as they did in past years, as there are many new residents. Education and respect for our water resources could be in flyer form, to inform people of the artesian well water here, and that its not from a resevoir. They don’t know, don’t care, think its an endless supply. Parents should set an example for their kids, and not break rules – saying its ok to do so. If not, they could take their bad habits and move back to the city.
I agree with the above and also see neighbors breaking the rules. Besides grass is not a native ground cover and shouldn’t be the main cover of yard space anyway: requires too much water, and pesticides, herbicides to maintain. Many articles have appeared on this subject including a great one in the Ridgewood News from former Eco Ed Schwarz.
Send an email with the offenders address to [email protected] is the boss at ridgewood water. When they are doing enforcement they can see it and do something .Police used to enforce but just like all jnight parking they won’t do anything unless a complaint is called in
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015, 11:22 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A treatment program currently being implemented by Ridgewood Water designed to combat the levels of lead found in testing samples taken in 2012 should be completed by the third quarter of next year.
Utility officials have made recent appearances in Ridgewood, Glen Rock and Midland Park to educate residents on the subject. The utility also serves Wyckoff.
Testing done three years ago by Ridgewood Water revealed 11 cases where the water contained more than .015 milligrams per liter of lead, which triggered the need for public education and a course of action to remediate the situation, as mandated by the Department of Environmental Protection.
Lead leached into the water from lead service lines was listed as the cause for the exceedance of the action level. Officials have said the water itself is lead-free.
Lead can cause serious health problems if too much enters a person’s body, and the effects are especially harmful to young children, infants and pregnant women. Lead is stored in the bones and can be released after building up for several years, causing brain and kidney damage.
The hot weather and limited rainfall has led to a big increase in water use for irrigating. At the same time, the rainfall and groundwater status as monitored by NJDEP has recently been downgraded from “near normal” to “moderately dry.” Stage I restrictions have not moderated the water demand enough to maintain reserves for firefighting and other emergencies, so Ridgewood Water is implementing Stage II restrictions. Stage II limits the use of water for irrigation to two days per week. If your street address is an odd number, you may irrigate on Tuesdays and Saturdays only. If your street address is an even number, you may irrigate on Wednesdays and Sundays only. A hand held hose may be used at any time. No irrigation is allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays except for a hand held hose.
We appreciate your cooperation in conserving this vital, shared resource.
*Please DISREGARD the notice published in the Village Calendar about Water restrictions ending in September. Stage II Water Restrictions remain until further notice.
NOTICE TO BIDDERS – Cold Water meters and Accessories 2015 – 2016
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
Sealed bid proposals will be received by the Village of Ridgewood, in the Office of the Water Department/Director of Operations, Level 5 of Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07451 on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. prevailing time, and then publicly opened and read aloud for following project:
BID NO. 022-2015 – COLD WATER METERS AND ACCESSORIES 2015-2016
The work of the Contract shall be to supply Neptune Cold Water Meters and Accessories or approved equal, for the Ridgewood Water Operating Center at 205 E. Glen Ave., Ridgewood, New Jersey 07451, as needed and described in the contract specifications.
Specifications and bid forms may be obtained by mail or in person from the office of the Director of Operations, Ridgewood Water, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07451, telephone (201) 670-5521, for a non-refundable fee of $10.00, per set of bid documents. Documents may be examined or picked up in person between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Operations Division, Ridgewood Water, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07451, Monday through Friday. Prospective bidders requesting bid documents be mailed to them shall be responsible for providing their own postage/delivery service remuneration. No Specifications and/or Proposal forms shall be given out after 4:30 p.m. on Monday, August 31, 2015.
The contractual obligation of the Village of Ridgewood under this Contract for these items is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for this Contract can be made.
Prices quoted must be net and exclusive of all Federal, State and Local Sales and Excise Taxes. Bids may be submitted prior to the bid opening in person or by mail, addressed to the Office of the Village Clerk. The Village assumes no responsibility for loss or non-delivery of any bid sent to it prior to the Bid opening.
Each bid must be enclosed in a sealed envelope with the name of the bidder thereon and endorsed, “BID responding to BID NO. 022-2015 –COLD WATER METERS AND ACCESSORIES 2015-2016, Do Not Open Until September 2, 2015 at 10:30 AM” and must be accompanied by all required forms.
Any award or awards may be made at a later or subsequent time or meeting of the Village Council. All required schedules, that is required forms are to be submitted on the forms attached to the bid documents. No other forms will be accepted.
The successful bidder shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Prevailing Wage Act, as determined by the New Jersey Department of Labor. All contractors, their subcontractors, and material suppliers shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Public Works Contractor Registration Act, pursuant to Public Law 1999 Chapter 238 and the Contractor Business Registration Program, pursuant to Public Law 2004 Chapter 57.
The successful bidder shall furnish and deliver to the Village of Ridgewood a performance and payment bond (Schedule F) in the amount of 100 percent of the accepted bid amount as security for the faithful performance of the Contract. Additionally, the successful bidder shall furnish policies or Certificates of Insurance required by the Contract. In default thereof, said checks and/or bonds and the amount represented thereby shall be forfeited to the Village of Ridgewood as liquidated damages, not as a penalty.
Proposals submitted by Bidders and/or Bidder’s Insurance Company(ies) not chartered in the State of New Jersey, must be accompanied by proper certificate(s) from the Secretary of State, indicating that such Bidders, Bidder’s Insurance Company(ies), and/or Surety Company(ies) is (are) authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey. The Village of Ridgewood reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any informality or to accept a bid which, in its judgment best serves the interest of the Village. No bids may be withdrawn for a period of sixty-days (60) after the date and time set for the opening of bids.
“BIDDERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF P.L.1975, C. 127. (NJAC 17:27) regarding Affirmative Action, and Executive Order No. 11246 regarding equal employment opportunity, as amended”. A complete statement as to these requirements is included in the specifications.
By Order of the Village Manager Publication date: August 21, 2015
