White Plains CitizeNetReporter - County Drought Emergency Not Over, Spano Says.

WPCNR County Clarion and Call. From Westchester County Department of Communications. July 19, 2002.: Despite a wet May and June, Westchester remains in a drought emergency with mandatory restrictions on water use, County Executive Andy Spano said Friday.

The region has been hurt by an unusually dry July, with only a quarter-inch of rain since July 1, instead of the historical average of 4 inches.

July and August are typically the months when water usage rises. But there has not been significant rainfall since the end of June so an increase in water usage could severely impact supply.

“Another dry spell like last fall and winter and we could be placing the system under severe stress,” said Spano. “This would be particularly true if the levels in the reservoirs at the end of this summer are lower than what we had last summer. We must continue to conserve water now to make sure that there is enough water for the very near future.”

Only 80% of Capacity. 15% Lower Than Normal.

Westchester gets 85 percent of its water from the New York City water system. It will take significant rainfall to bring these reservoirs to what is normal and desired for mid-July -- 93 percent of capacity. The system storage is in the low 80s and has not fully recovered from the dry fall and winter when capacities were as low as 40 percent.

“We had a false sense of security in May and June when we received almost 11 inches of rain,.” said Spano. “However since then less than a quarter-inch of rain has fallen in the reservoir system. We all must do our part to use our water wisely and limit non-essential water use. An increase in consumption could result in further restrictions.”

Current restrictions:

• Limit lawn watering to no more than four hours per day between 5-9 am and 7-9 pm on an odd-even schedule; odd-numbered addresses water on odd-numbered days and even-numbered addresses water on even-numbered days;

• Require business and non-residential wpcnr_users of more than 1000 gallons per day to devise and implement plans to reduce water use by 15 percent;

• Bar the use of a hose to wash sidewalks, driveways and automobiles.

For a complete list of residential and business restrictions and other water saving tips, please visit the County's website at www.westchestergov.com.


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