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"This funding will help us to perform tasks that our residents have made clear are important to them and to Rockland County's future when it comes to ensuring adequate and safe drinking water for generations to come," said County Executive Ed Day.
The funding must specifically be used for the development of a long-term water conservation strategy, according to the state Senate and Assembly bills.
"This award will allow us to continue with our efforts to significantly reduce water use in Rockland, ensuring that water demand does not exceed supply," County Legislator Harriet Cornell said. "At the same time, it will enable us to educate our residents and business owners about our water – how precious it truly is and how important it is that we act as good stewards to protect it. Rockland is a model for the state."
The Rockland County Task Force on Water Resources Management, which is chaired by Cornell and includes the Day and Legislative Chairman Alden Wolfe as members, submitted a request for the funding through Rockland's state legislators and spearheaded by Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee.
The task force will use the money to prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Implementation Plan and to implement outreach and education measures, as well as incentives and water audits. The conservation efforts would look at the water demand forecast through the year 2035.
Most recently, Rockland took a significant step regarding water conservation by amending the county's procurement law to require the purchase and installation of water-efficient plumbing fixtures in county facilities whenever feasible.
In the 21 months since it was created, the task force has experienced multiple successes, including submission of a report by national water conservation and efficiency expert Amy Vickers.
In the report, Vickers recommended that a combination of conservation, water reuse technologies, rainwater harvesting and green infrastructure options be tapped to help Rockland further drive down demand and increase water supply independence.
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