In both Mahwah and Ramsey, municipal water companies limit outdoor watering from May 1 to Sept. 30 annually. No additional restrictions are in place at this time, but both companies warn further restrictions may be needed soon if conservation efforts are not made.
In Mahwah, outdoor watering is permitted as follows:
- even numbered properties on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
- odd numbered properties on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays
- handheld hose watering is allowed at any time.
In Ramsey, outdoor watering is permitted as follows:
- east of the railroad tracks on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays
- west of the tracks on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays
- handheld hose watering is allowed at any time
In-ground water systems may run between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. only, while above ground sprinklers may be used between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the allotted days.
Ramsey makes exceptions newly installed sod or seed lawns every day, except Friday, for a period of two weeks from installation with written notice provided to the Ramsey Department of Public Works.
Both Mahwah and Ramsey water supplement its supply with additional water from United Water, which is also asking customers to conserve.
"This extended dry weather pattern is testing the limits of our supply," said United Water Senior Operations Director Tom Neilan. "This is one of the driest summer months in northern New Jersey in over 90 years.”
Customers should restrict water usage outdoors and conserve where possible indoors while the unusually dry weather pattern passes.
“The New Jersey reservoirs that serve approximately 800,000 people in Bergen and Hudson counties are now at less than 50 percent capacity," Neilan said in a statement. "We continue, however, to distribute water at a very high rate with over 3.9 billion gallons delivered this month. That is nearly 400 million gallons more than in August last year.”
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