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Trenton NJ, the Murphy Administration today issued a statewide Drought Watch, strongly urging residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve water as persistent dry and warmer-than-average conditions continue to stress the state’s water supplies.
Continue reading New Jersey Issues a Statewide Drought Watch
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Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Water is putting a hold on issuing new smart controller approvals and asking those with smart controllers be reprogrammed to restrict watering to two days per week, and only during the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. In order to avoid future drought impacts, the conditions for recertifying next year’s smart controller permits may include new restrictions on days and times for smart controller watering.
Continue reading Ridgewood Water is puts hold on issuing new smart controller approvals
SEPTEMBER 23, 2015, 2:51 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015, 5:48 PM
BY SCOTT FALLON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
State officials on Wednesday began urging North Jersey residents to conserve water with a very dry summer having come to a close and forecasts showing little rain in the near future.
The state’s designated “drought watch” for 12 counties including all of Bergen and Passaic comes about three weeks after some utilities began asking their customers to limit consumption.
The state Department of Environmental Protection singled out United Water for a “significant” decline in reservoir levels because the company has been relying on other water providers to help meet the demand of its 800,000 customers in the counties of Bergen and Hudson. The company’s three New Jersey reservoirs were at 48.6-percent capacity on Wednesday and have been pumping in water from other sources including the Wanaque Reservoir and the Passaic Valley Water Commission for much of the summer.
But United Water executives and their counterparts at other utilities said Wednesday that demand has dropped significantly with cooler autumnal temperatures arriving. The Wanaque Reservoir, which is at 51-percent capacity, is releasing 20 million gallons per day less this week than it was at the beginning of the month, a 16-percent drop.
“We’re getting out of peak season, so things are looking better despite the lack of rain,” said Rich Henning, a spokesman for United Water. “If we were at this point at the beginning of summer or the middle of summer, then there would be much more of a concern.”
Still, water companies have a lot of volume to make up. The counties of Bergen and Passaic have received only 5.7 inches of rain during the past 60 days, about 12 inches below normal, according to the National Weather Service.