White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Drought Drains. Spano Taps White Plains Louise Doyle H2O Chief. County Prepares.

WPCNR NewsReel, from Westchester County Department of Communications Reports, Filed 3/8/02:County Executive Andy Spano appointed White Plains resident Louise Doyle to head the County's new Water Agency in response to the County's continuing drought. County water reservoir waterlevels are filled to half of their capacity as of this week. In an average year they are filled to 86%.

Ms. Doyle's appointment was one of several steps the county government is taking to prepare for a potential drought Ms. Doyle will coordinate the county's drought effort.

Doyle, a professional engineer, has worked for the county’s Department of Health since 1988, first as a senior engineer and since 1994 as an associate engineer. She has provided engineering supervision of the Land Development Program, particularly as it relates to the implementation of the New York City Watershed Rules and Regulations. She has been a member of the Westchester Water Works Conference since 1983 and has extensive knowledge of Westchester’s water suppliers.

County Executive Readies

Saying he would not wait to act for an “official announcement of a drought emergency” -- one that comes from New York City -- Spano said the county is gearing up on many fronts on the assumption that mandatory conservation measures are inevitable.

County water reservoir waterlevels are filled to half of their capacity as of this week. In an average year they are filled to 86%.

In the meantime, he reiterated his request that residents and businesses voluntarily conserve water.

“All expectations are that there will not be enough rain over the next few months to fill our reservoirs,” Spano said. “While the official declaration of an ‘emergency’ may not come for 4-10 weeks, we will not wait until then to act. We want to be prepared.”

Public Works Moves to Stop "Water" Leaks

He added, “And we as the county government have taken steps to save as well. Our Department of Public Works has an ongoing maintenance policy to repair water leaks or other water problems as they are reported. County vehicles are not being washed at our county garage, but are being brought instead to outside places that use recycled water. Our county buses are being washed less frequently and with less fresh water and more recycled water. And caution is being used on all county construction jobs to identify water lines to prevent any breakage.”

County Parks Finetunes Plantings

The county’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation will not be doing its usual spring plantings of annuals that use a lot of water.

“In place of these plants, we will place wood chips and a sign that explains that we are conserving water,” Spano said.

Why Westchester Water Depends on New York City Policy

Westchester gets about 85 percent of its water from the New York City reservoir system; therefore it follows the lead of New York City in regards to the water shortage. Westchester and New York City previously declared a “drought warning,” which calls for voluntary conservation and education measures.

The next stage – a “drought emergency” mandates certain water restrictions. These get more severe if the drought persists.

How White Plains Will Have to Sacrifice

Should the prolonged drought continue, and a draught emergency declared, White Plains residents can expect a range of enforced savings from limits on when or if lawns may be watered, cars washed and swimming pools filled and when water may be served at restaurants.

Businesses will have to cut back water use 15-25%.

In addition, if an emergency is declared large, non residential water wpcnr_users must develop and implement plans to reduce their use 15 percent to 25 percent, depending on the severity of the drought.

New County Water Policies

The county government is contacting schools, day care centers, nurseries, landscape associations, municipalities, businesses, landlords and building owners to acquaint them with what the law will require of them if a drought emergency is declared.

Specifically, all businesses and governments that use more than 1,000 gallons of water per day would have to develop a plan to decrease water usage by 15 percent. In the meantime, the county is asking these businesses to check for and repair leaky faucets and pipes and take voluntary measures to conserve.

Restaurants Called on for Voluntary Water Conservation

The county has asked restaurants to participate in a voluntary effort to conserve water by not serving water except upon request. The county has distributed posters and menu cards to restaurants for them to display to explain this policy. If a drought emergency is declared, restaurants would be barred from serving water except upon request.

County Acts to Increase Water Awareness

The county has posted on its website, www.westchestergov.com, water conservation information, and this site will be expanded in coming weeks.

• The county has “blast faxed” letters to all chief elected officials asking them to help promote water conservation, to check for water leaks, distribute water-saving tips posters, post information about water conservation on their own websites and on public access TV.

• The county has contacted the various water suppliers, offering to provide them with “Water Savings Tips” inserts for their water bills.

• The county has printed posters with water-saving tips that it is distributing throughout the county, including to municipal buildings, supermarkets and other large retail stores, businesses and schools.

• The county has prepared and distributed Public Service Announcements for airing on TV and radio urging conservation.

• The county will use its “outbound calling system,” to call Westchester homes with a recorded message urging conservation.

• Previously, the county appointed a Drought Emergency Task Force, whose job it is to oversee some of the public education efforts and establish administrative procedures to enable it to monitor compliance with the county’s water conservation program. The task force, along with the water agency, will work with the business community to formulate and implement water conservation plans.

Information in this report was provided by the Westchester County Department of Communications and edited by WPCNR.


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