As New Jersey sizzles under an intense heat wave, lawns are turning brown, shrubs and flowers are wilting, and residents are desperately trying to salvage what they can by running sprinklers or watering by hand.
In some parts of the state, that’s triggering a big problem: High water usage. And one major water company has responded by imposing mandatory water restrictions in Monmouth County and asking for voluntary water conservation in parts of Ocean County.
Reacting to a combination of high water demand and low rainfall, the New Jersey American Water Company issued automated telephone alerts late Saturday, informing Monmouth County homeowners that “mandatory water restrictions” are in place until further notice. Today, the company asked for voluntary water conservation from its customers in seven Ocean County communities: Bay Head, Brick Township, Lavallette, Lakewood, Mantoloking, Ortley Beach and Toms River barrier islands.
The company serves 17 of the 21 counties in New Jersey, but as of tonight only Monmouth and Ocean had water restrictions.
“This extended period of high heat and little rainfall, combined with the holiday weekend, has increased water demand in Monmouth County to extremely high levels,” said Steven Tambini, New Jersey American Water’s vice president of operations.
Richard Barnes, external affairs manager for American Water Company, said the company anticipated high water use because of the influx of visitors to the Jersey Shore area.
(Source: NJ Star Ledger)
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5 Responses
I found it very ironic, that after receiving a 2nd automated voice message from New Jersey American Water Co, to restrict water usage, I drove by “their” place on Sunset Rd and saw their sprinkler system spraying away!
After receiving the call from American Water Company yesterday, requesting that we try to conserve water, I was considering not watering my lawn. You can imagine how surprised and distrurbed I was to see the NJ American Water watering their own property this morning on Sunset Ave in Lakewood.
Lakewood needs to get rid of this company they know how to charge big time.
They volunteered to keep their lawn green.
perhaps njaw was using well water.