In response to a drought watch issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), water suppliers and environmental advocates are actively encouraging users to conserve water.
Tom Shroba, senior director of operations for New Jersey American Water’s Northern Operations, said customers cutting down on usage would hopefully be enough to address a recent lack of precipitation. “We’ve gone several weeks without significant rainfall and if this pattern continues, our water supply levels could reach a critical stage,” Shroba said. “We are closely managing our water supply resources to ensure that our customers’ water service is not impacted.
“However, should the above average temperatures and dry weather continue, more stringent restrictions of water usage may be required. With our customers’ vigilance in conserving water, New Jersey American Water can continue to meet water demands while preserving this finite resource.”
The private water company serves about 2.5 million people throughout New Jersey. Shroba urged customers to avoid overwatering landscaping and to reduce usage during peak hours to help address the low precipitation levels.
Last week, the DEP issued a drought watch in three regions spanning 12 counties in the Northeast, Central and Coastal North water supply regions,
“We have been carefully tracking precipitation, stream flows, ground water and reservoir levels since the spring and over the course of the very dry summer,” DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said in a Sept. 23 statement.
“While it is not uncommon to see reduced stream flows and ground water levels by the end of the summer season, we are beginning to observe signs of stress in our water supply indicators, and this warrants closer scrutiny and public cooperation.
“We are asking residents to be aware of the situation and use water more carefully and deliberatively, especially when it comes to lawn watering and other non-essential uses. The goal is to moderate water demand through voluntary conservation.”
Heather Fenyk, president of the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, said droughts put high stress levels on local waterways, negatively impacting human communities, as well as the ecological viability of the natural habitat at large.
“What happens when you have decreased stream flow is it impacts the ability of our waterways to do the job of sediment flushing and increases nutrient loading,” Fenyk said in an interview. “When you aren’t able to flush the sedimentation and have intensified nutrient loading in drinking water sources … you have an increase in the costs associated with chemical treatment.
“You can deal with it, but sometimes it’s dealt with by switching water sources.”
Those are the short-term impacts, but Fenyk says the consequences of droughts remain for years after the dry conditions have subsided.
“You also end up with compromised habitat conditions for critters. There are tiny aquatic organisms called macro-invertebrates,” Fenyk said. Her organization samples the amount of macro-invertebrates present in local waterways every fall.
“They’re a very important food source in the Raritan River and streams. When you have increased sediment and nutrient loads you see a decrease of macroinvertebrates,” she said. “Fewer macro-invertebrates means less food for the fish, less food for the birds … it’s just a stress on the whole ecosystem.”
Beyond conserving through personal consumption, Fenyk said community-wide policies need to be enacted to address the threat of droughts in the long term, including building green infrastructure, participating in water recycling programs and encouraging local groundwater recharge rather than creating more local storm water runoff.
“By pushing these policies at a community level, people will eventually start taking the smaller steps because it becomes a cultural activity. “Future thinking also needs to be part of the conversation.
“We’re talking water resilience and security not just now but for years to come.”