Big LI water suppliers continue watering restrictions
Long Island's big water suppliers Monday said restrictions on nonessential outdoor uses will remain in place as they struggle with arid weather and heavy demand, even as the Riverhead Water District is relaxing its rules.
The town, which operates its own system, last week asked residents to stop watering lawns. The dry spell had forced the use of every active well just to keep water tanks full and maintain adequate pressure.
In last week's heat wave, districts across the Island asked customers to refrain from watering lawns and washing vehicles.
Monday, Riverhead officials said they are now asking residents to voluntarily follow an odd-even watering system: odd-numbered houses watering lawns on odd-numbered calendar days and even-numbered homes on even-numbered days.
The request mirrors a Nassau County ordinance that requires residents to follow the odd-even system as well as a ban on lawn irrigation from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's been on the books since 1987 but is not enforced, according to Nassau police.
On Friday, the Town of Hempstead dropped its recent ban on nonessential uses but urged the 36,000 customers in its six water districts to follow the county ordinance.
Other suppliers, like Long Island American Water, which has 75,000 customers in southwestern Nassau; the Jericho Water District, with more than 18,000; and the Greenlawn Water District, which serves 42,000, said they were keeping restrictions on nonessential uses in place.
And the Suffolk County Water Authority, with 1.2 million customers, is doing the same on the East End, with demand in Southampton a particular concern.
"People are still going crazy with the sprinklers," said authority chairman Jim Gaughran. "Even though the temperature has gotten a little better, there still hasn't been a lot of precipitation."
In Riverhead, Supervisor Sean Walter said that in a prolonged heat wave, up to 80 percent of the water supplied by his town's system is used for lawn watering.
Last week, town officials discussed whether to add an extra pump, which would increase capacity by nearly 2 million gallons.
'I did not live up to the standards that I try to hold for myself' Justin Timberlake appeared in a Sag Harbor court Friday to plead guilty to a lesser charge in his drunken driving case.
'I did not live up to the standards that I try to hold for myself' Justin Timberlake appeared in a Sag Harbor court Friday to plead guilty to a lesser charge in his drunken driving case.
