Water Watch

Faced with a heat wave, little heavy rain and residents keen to keep lawns lush with generous watering, Long Island water suppliers are exhorting customers to curb use as they struggle to meet demand.
In recent days, several of the Island's more than 50 water districts - public, independent and private alike - have advised against nonessential use such as lawn-watering and car washing. Others have used stronger language, issuing "mandatory" curbs while not detailing how the restrictions will be enforced.
Behind the different choice of words is a shared problem: While there is plenty of water in the aquifer that serves Long Islanders, the systems that deliver it are badly stressed, particularly by aggressive lawn-watering.
In the past, drought conditions and high demand have led to calls for limits on use. But Kelleher, a senior vice president of H2M Group, consulting engineers for more than 20 public water suppliers on the Island, said he's been in the business 25 years and has never seen demand take such a toll.

The Western Nassau Water Authority reminds customers that all residents of Nassau County are prohibited from outside water usage year-round between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. In addition, customers with odd-numbered addresses may only water on odd-numbered days; customers with even-numbered addresses, or premises without a numbered address, may only water on even-numbered days.

The continued heat and lack of rain has resulted in extraordinary demand for water service. In order to avoid more serious problems that would hinder our ability to provide water for fire protection and other essential services, we are calling on our customers to voluntarily reduce outdoor water usage such as lawn watering and car washing or similar non-essential water usage until we get rain.
Should you have any questions, please contact our customer service department at
(516) 327-4100 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.


Long Island American Water, a private company that serves 75,000 customers in southwestern Nassau County, Tuesday issued a restriction on nonessential outdoor water use until further notice. An American Water spokeswoman said no similar step had been taken during her 19 years with the company.
American Water president Bill Varley said on a normal summer day, his system will pump between 35 million and 40 million gallons. In recent weeks, he said, the system has consistently been asked to handle 50 million gallons a day or more, demand unlike any he has seen in a decade with the company.
Residents, he said, should realize that a brown lawn is not a dead one.

"Your lawn will come back," Walter said. "If it gets brown over the summer, it will come back when the rains come. So please stop watering like crazy."