Long Island's East End residents face odd-even lawn watering rules as drought strains water supply
SUFFOLK COUNTY, New York (WABC) -- Most of the Tri-State is dealing with drought conditions and now Suffolk County's Water Authority is issuing restrictions.
This impacts all customers in the towns of Southold, Shelter Island, Southampton, and East Hampton.
Homes with odd-numbered addresses can only water on odd-numbered calendar days. Even-numbered addresses can only water on even days.
No one should water their lawn between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The goal is to keep water pressure high enough for any emergency responses.
"We've been trying to do outreach to our customers to do conservation so we have enough water to meet demand if there's a fire or hospital in need of extra water," said JeffreySzabo, CEO SuffolkCountyWater Authority.
Szabo said given that it's mid-July, they expect another six weeks of warm weather and they want to make sure there is enough water in an emergency.
He said they pump about 545,000 gallons of water a minute in the early morning hours and most of that is going toward irrigating lawns.
The utility released a statement:
"We need all customers to refrain from lawn watering immediately. SCWA infrastructure is reaching maximum capacity under current drought and heat conditions. You may experience low water pressure in the early morning hours, as demand is at its highest during this time. Halting lawn watering is necessary to ensure we maintain adequate water pressure for essential indoor use and emergency fire response."
For details and water-saving methods, visit www.scwa.com/conservation.
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