Greener grass could mean a half-empty glass

BY KRISTEN DALTON
Staff Writer

Remember the July Fourth holiday in 2010? It capped off 30 days of 90-degree heat, no rainfall, and every lawn in Monmouth County was an unattractive brown color, or yellow if you were lucky.

Well, that holiday also caused the New Jersey American Water Co. to scramble over its inability to pump out enough water at its Swimming River Water Treatment Plant in Colts Neck to meet the high demands of its customers, most of whom were desperate to keep their yards green.

“It’s kind of funny, in Pennsylvania when your lawn goes brown, it’s called summer. Here in New Jersey your neighbors are pounding on your door yelling, ‘What are you doing? You’re bringing down our property values!’ ” said Peter Eschbach, director of communications and external affairs for New Jersey American Water, in an interview on May 31.

“When you get into that neck of Monmouth County where it’s fairly affluent, the larger homes tend to have larger sprinkler systems.”

According to Eschbach, there is typically a spike in water consumption in the early morning hours between 3 and 7 a.m., when most people water their lawns, wake up, use the shower and flush the toilet.

When that usage is coupled with hotter summertime temperatures, little rainfall, and more people drinking water to cool off or eating at more restaurants and staying at more hotels, the increased demand for water eventually adds up. The bottom line: use water wisely.

“Some of the things are really so simple. It’s mind-boggling to me when you drive around and people have their sprinklers on and they’re washing the street. If nothing else, get it on the lawn. You don’t have to wash your driveway,” said Eschbach.

“It’s amazing also that sprinklers are on during rainstorms or the sprinklers are on so long that there’s water pooling around on the sidewalk.”

Mayors from Rumson, West Long Branch, Eatontown, Shrewsbury, Little Silver and Tinton Falls attended the Two River Council of Mayors meeting on May 24 at the Swimming River Water Treatment Plant to find out about ways their communities could conserve water during the summer.

According to Bob Schaefer, senior director of production of New Jersey American Water, the company uses the Coastal North System to serve all or parts of 36 municipalities in Monmouth and Ocean counties, and there are 3.4 billion gallons of water stored in the Swimming River and Glendola reservoirs.

On average, 49 million gallons of water were pumped out daily in 2010, but that number jumped to a maximum distribution of 82.1 million gallons per day during last year’s heat wave.

“When we all of a sudden get a huge draw of water, a huge demand of water from our customers, our treatment systems and our distribution systems need to keep up with that. We have to maintain our tank levels, and we have to regulate the amount of water coming out of those tanks to meet that demand,” said Schaefer.

“When our systems start to drop the levels of those tanks, that’s when we start to see some of the lower pressure situations that happen. Take July Fourth weekend 2010. We went from normal conditions to a heat wave in just a matter of days.”

This year the water company has become more proactive in raising awareness about water conservation through advertising campaigns with local radio stations and educational partnerships with schools. There’s even a giant billboard near the Driscoll Bridge advising consumers to be mindful of their water use this summer.

According to the director, the mild winter and lack of snowfall have contributed to low precipitation levels, which are still about 25 to 50 percent below average for this time of year. Rainfall totals are still about 5 to 6 inches below average levels statewide, he said.

“Over the last couple of months, there’s been a lot of discussion about the lack of rainfall and the potential for drought. Our reservoirs are at 100 percent right now, so we’re pretty comfortable with that,” said Schaefer.

Above-ground water tanks and towers, in addition to storing water, provide adequate pressure that maintains the proper equilibrium throughout the water system. According to Eschbach, in 2010 inadequate pressure was one of the reasons the company was not able to efficiently pump water out to its customers.

“People were looking at the reservoir [in 2010] when they drove by on Swimming River Road and would say it looked fine to them. It had nothing to do with how much water was in the reservoir, it had everything to do with how fast we could treat it and put it in the tank,” said Eschbach.

“Imagine what happens in New Jersey when we all get up in the morning if half the state flushes while the other half is taking a shower. So these tanks basically keep the pressure in the system.”

Water consumption isn’t just an issue for residents wanting to keep their lawns greener than their neighbors.’ It’s also about providing water for fire services during emergencies.

“We recognize that it’s not just an individual service but a public service from the standpoint of fire protection. It’s a public safety and a public health issue if the system loses that much pressure. That’s why we’re starting now,” explained Eschbach.

“We’re trying to talk to people now as opposed to waiting until we’re in trouble and saying, ‘Oh, by the way, we’d really like it if you could conserve water.’ ”