Tag: Ridgewood Water

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Urge Village Council to Learn the Facts

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Please read this compelling email from CBR Supporter, Lorraine Reynolds, and consider emailing Village Council Members.

Thank you!

Citizens  for  a Better Ridgewood
[email protected]

All,

As you may or may not know, on September 30th the village council will be continuing the 2 night hearing and voting on the 5 ordinances regarding the high density housing. These ordinances would increase the density allowed from 12 units per acre (current) to 35 units per acre (UPA) in our downtown. Here’s a comparison as to what some other towns in our area allow: Fort Lee 50 UPA, Teaneck 28 UPA, Englewood 12 UPA, Hackensack 22 UPA. If passed, Fort Lee would be the only town in our area, similar in population, with a greater density per acre. I do believe the majority of the town is accepting of development, but on a smaller scale. Maybe 25 units per acre? Do we really want to be built up more than Teaneck? I certainly don’t want to be anywhere near Fort Lee’s density.

The planning board spent approximately 3 years in discussions and 1 1/2 years in a public hearing before voting. The village council had a small portion of their Sept 16 meeting devoted to this and now the council will be coming to the sept 30th meeting with their written statements prepared on how they are voting and why. The Ridgewood News had an editorial last week about “what’s the hurry?”. I have to agree with them. While I don’t want this to drag out, I do want the council to do their due diligence and get all of the facts before they vote. During the Valley hearings at the council level, the council brought in the traffic expert, planner, geotechnical engineer, etc and each council member asked questions of these experts and based their vote on what was discussed at council.

It appears that the majority of the council does not want to bring in any experts. They are ready to vote without asking any questions of any experts as to how this will effect Ridgewood. At the planning board level, a concern about the increase this would bring to our taxes was brought up several times by residents. The discussion was always shot down, because “it is not in the purview of the planning board to consider finances.” In fact, the village planner stated, “residential housing almost always increases taxes, we should not be doing this if we think taxes will go down, but there are other benefits to residential housing.” The council has a much broader scope of items they can discuss, finances being one of them. You may remember that Tom Riche voted yes to the Valley amendment at the PB level, but no to it at the council level. That is because the council is able to look at a broader range of issues. Finances should definitely be discussed.

I would like to see the council bring in several experts in addition to a financial expert. Water must be discussed. I know this year is an exception with the lack of rain, but we have mandatory water restrictions every year. Can you imagine an additional few hundred apartments to supply? I can’t.

Schools must be discussed. The planning board did not have a member of the BOE at their public hearings. The council needs to ask Dr Fishbein to appear at the council hearing to answer questions.

The traffic expert, the engineer, the planner, etc should all be questioned. I do hear the planner will be there, but that’s it.
I don’t know how anyone could possible vote on something so monumental without questioning all of these experts to see what the impacts will be for Ridgewood.

I urge you to e-mail our council and ask them to have these experts at the hearing, get the facts first hand, and then vote.
These people are our elected officials, and we have a right to make sure they have done their due diligence before they vote.
Whether you are for or against the increase to 35 units per acre, I think we can all agree that each council member needs to be able to ask questions of the experts to help them in their decision making process.

Below are the e-mails of all the council members. Please send them an e-mail today and forward this to friends. Thanks

[email protected]
[email protected]
s[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

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Reader says The facts are ; there is no shortage of water, the issue is the lack of pumping and storage due to poor planning and management.

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Some of the posts are making a different point. My suggestion is that a some point the village has become a place where neighbors blindly follow a restriction, call out neighbors for trying to maintain their properties, and never seem to push for understanding of how to address the issue or correcting it. The facts are interesting; there is no shortage of water, the issue is the lack of pumping and storage due to poor planning and management. Claims that we hit Stage 4 due to disregard for previous stages shows a complete lack of understanding of how the water systems work, there is no linkage. We expect our neighborhoods to have maintained houses with landscaping, etc and then call out those who invest to do so. When I was young I remember the local police pulling into a school event and participating, now the village has them shutting it down. Imagine how much goodwill would have been realized had the police car been ‘washed’ by the kids. Isnt that the relationships we should foster as a Village.

This weekend I traveled to another town in eastern Bergen, where I noticed the local fire department was sponsoring a ‘wash’ seemed odd that less them 12 miles away they had enough rain to avoid water issues.

The village needs to reset a bit and ask the right questons to the right authorities, when we are the point where the police are shutting down fund raising events we all should be concerned.

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Reader says Time for a “Tip Line ” to catch Watering Violators in Ridgewood

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Why does it have to be a complaint if its illegal. Why not have an anonymous “tip” line?
For instance, if a call to the police asking if they still are writing a summons for sprinkling, the response is yes, what’s the address, what’s your name, address and phone number and will you sign a complaint, the only way they’ll issue a summons is when they send someone out, they actually have to see the sprinkler on when they get there.
Not true, he saw the sprinkler on watering, put the spot light on it, walked up to house, flashlight showed sprinkler on, talked to owner at front door, owner claimed they’re “new” didn’t know, police gave warning, didn’t give summons. Another neighbor saw and heard, told police they water all time. The owner knew about restrictions from other neighbors last year and repeatedly knew about it this year, ignored rules, sprinkler on at night whenever he felt like thru stage 1,2 and 4.
so, even when they actually see a sprinkler on, it don’t cut it for writing a summons? What gives?
“from the VOR website – Village Manager Regarding Stage 4 Enforcement”
“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.”

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Village of Ridgewood Manager Updates Watering Restrictions, Enforcement and Waivers

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But the questions remains can I wash my car or not ?

Village of Ridgewood E-Notice

Water Restrictions

Dear E Notice Resident,

Your cooperation with Stage 4 watering restrictions as well as stricter enforcement has had a very positive impact on our water usage. We have seen roughly a 50+% decrease in usage from the highs of August and early September. That being said, weather forecasts over the next several days are not positive from a rainfall point of view and we will continue Stage 4 restrictions – with some ability to do case by case waivers – until further notice. We will continue our heightened enforcement – I know some of you have expressed dismay that we are not ticketing every residence and that there are still residents that are flagrant violators – we will continue to be vigilant about this.

Just a reminder: No irrigation of any kind is allowable 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 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 now be considered on a case by case basis. In order to be considered for waivers, please contact Ridgewood Water at 201-670-5520 or email Customer Service at [email protected].

Several of you have asked me about why Ridgewood Water has instituted Stage 4 restrictions as opposed to some other water utilities. The Ridgewood Water System is unlike many other systems as it relies on a system of over 45 wells, associated treatment systems, piping, storage and more. These appurtenances have their limits and become extremely stressed when there is noncompliance with watering restrictions during a drought condition. This is part of the problem we had when we were in Stage 2 watering restrictions. During a peak summer day with irrigation systems running, water production can more than double reaching limits as high as 14 million gallons per day. Some think the crux of the problem is lack of storage but during the conditions we have been experiencing we cannot even fill the tanks completely.

Improvements are needed in certain areas to provide more resiliency and fire protection and we are working on those capital projects…….but the entire system cannot be overbuilt at the expense of providing unlimited irrigation supply. Conservation and better controls are important components of our overall answer. Ridgewood Water will be working closely with each community (besides Ridgewood, we service Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff) to start building a conservation platform for the future. Considerations will include requiring the installation of weather, rain and soil sensors, and implementing new watering schedules – all of which can be controlled with smart irrigation technology.

Several of you have also asked me to discuss rates we bill our customers. We are one of the lowest cost providers of water in our immediate region. This year’s rates were kept flat, with no increase. It is important for Ridgewood taxpayers to know that Ridgewood Water is totally financed by the consumers of Ridgewood Water.

Apologies for the long E-Notice but I also had wanted to respond to some of the questions I have received from you as well as to communicate a status on our watering restrictions. We will continue to monitor conditions and inform you of any changes to the restrictions.

Best,

Roberta Sonenfeld

Village Manager

201-670-5500, ext. 203

-PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS

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North Jersey Drought Spreads

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North Jersey water officers not able to chill out bans – Surroundings – NorthJersey

By Observer Staff on September 19, 2015

The rain that fell on North Jersey final Thursday and a spritz over the weekend helped the area’s reservoirs – however solely barely.

The three-reservoir system operated by United Water alongside the Hackensack River has recovered to about 49 % of capability – up from 45 % final week, the utility firm stated.

The opposite main reservoir within the area, the Wanaque, hovered at 55 % capability Tuesday.

However with not a drop of rain within the forecast properly into subsequent week, the voluntary and obligatory restrictions that water utilities have carried out in current weeks stay in impact.

“Whereas we’ve got been graced with some aid, it is crucial for patrons to proceed to make use of water correctly, as our reservoirs nonetheless want further water,” stated Steve Goudsmith, a United Water spokesman.

Over the previous 60 days, Bergen County has had 2.5 inches of rain, a few quarter of the historic common for the interval. Passaic County has had three.2 inches, a deficit of 5.6 inches.

Even that rain has been hit-or-miss. From Thursday by means of the weekend, Haworth had 2.41 inches of rain whereas Lyndhurst, just some miles away, had about half that a lot.

“It was undoubtedly spotty,” stated Bob Ziff with the North Jersey Climate Observers. “My garden nonetheless seems three-quarters lifeless. It is like straw.”

New Jersey’s northern counties – together with the southern Hudson Valley, coastal Connecticut and Lengthy Island – are in a average drought, in line with federal climate officers. The remainder of New Jersey is taken into account abnormally dry.

 

 

https://www.jacksonobserver.com/north-jersey-water-officials-not-ready-to-relax-bans-environment-northjersey/5927/

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Reader asks What year or decade will the Ridgewood Water system ever be upgraded or improved so the water quality doesn’t effect us adversely?

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Yes same story every year only this is the worst. Other water companies didn’t start any restrictions til September. I’m shocked there aren’t more Posts from others and towns it services
Got my latest water bill a joke to spend the money all season then to be forced to have it die due to this restriction.
Just had spine surgery so virtually impossible for me to be out there with a hand held hose due to this.

What year or decade will this system ever be upgraded or improved so the water quality doesn’t effect us adversely?

Let’s get changes made instead of excuses for 30 years.

Dont fix an essential service – like water supply
Do build an albatros of a parking garage
Do build another turf field.

As long as we have our priorities straight…

 

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Water Restrictions Shut Down RHS Student Car Wash

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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?

https://www2.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1779

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Ridgewood Water Stage 4 water restrictions are still in effect

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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

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Which stage of watering restrictions are we really in?

ridgewood water

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.

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Efforts to conserve water are paying off in Ridgewood

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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.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/efforts-to-conserve-water-are-paying-off-in-ridgewood-1.1406245

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Readers Suggest Novel Ways for the Village to Fight the Drought

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1-Why doesn’t the Village post a list of repeat offenders on their website. That’ll stop the problem.

2-My friend in Florida uses “gray water” for her plants. She said she was actually doing the town a favor by watering

3-We should get the RBA to artificially turf on lawns. Problem solved!

4-Empty the Graydon Pool water into the water reserve tanks might help.

5-we had a good amount of snow this past winter, did we store it?

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Reader Every year there is a Village water shortage, every year we hear we need to increase system capacity, every year we hear about lack of compliance.

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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

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Ridgewood Moves on Early Morning Water Enforcement

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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
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Reader says Water restrictions could be more effective if the town sent Postal Notice Flyers to all water customers

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“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

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Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park residents face severe water restrictions

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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.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-glen-rock-midland-park-residents-face-severe-water-restrictions-1.1404137