Amid heat wave, United Water New Jersey asks customers to conserve

HAWORTH, N.J. (WABC) -- United Water New Jersey is asking customers to curtail water usage during the current heat wave.

Three straight days above 90 degrees is doing a number on our water supply. People tend to use more water when it's hotter, and the sun takes its cut through evaporation. So United Water is hitting the awareness alarm.

The utility says reservoirs that serve approximately 800,000 people in Bergen and Hudson counties are less than 50 percent of capacity. But the company says it delivered nearly 4 billion gallons of water in August, which was nearly 400 million gallons more than the same period last year.

"Following the driest August in recorded history, the New Jersey reservoirs that serve 800,000 people are at 45 percent capacity," communications director Steven Goudsmith said.

United Water says customers should restrict outdoor water use and conserve where possible indoors.