Amid the continuing and worsening drought, the Suffolk County Water Authority issued the season’s first Stage 1 water alert on Tuesday for all customers in Southold, Shelter Island, Southampton, and East Hampton Towns.
Despite the rain last week, the East End is still in a severe drought. It’s early to enter one, as droughts don’t usually hit until the fall, typically a drier time of year.
In June, the water authority set a “pumpage” record, using 11.15 billion gallons across its system. According to its website, the authority also nearly “exceeded its peak pumpage per minute record by reaching 540,000 gallons per minute during peak times.”
Simply put, irrigation systems are the culprit.
“The combination of regional drought and record pumpage requires an immediate response,” Charlie Lefkowitz, the chairman of the water authority, said. “We need all customers on the East End to adhere to water use restrictions so we can maintain pressure for fire protection.”
Those restrictions include using an odd/even watering schedule. For example, odd-numbered street addresses may only water lawns on odd-numbered calendar days. Also, no lawn watering is permitted between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
“Our crews are working to maintain system pressure, but conservation is a shared responsibility,” said Jeff Szabo, the water authority’s chief executive officer.
The important metric to maintain that water pressure is the weight of water in S.C.W.A. tanks. When irrigation systems click on nightly, however, the weight in those tanks, and therefore pressure across the system of pipes, is reduced. In the mornings, with tanks still low, the flow of water entering homes can be noticeably reduced.
Perhaps more important, the tanks “function as a reserve supply for S.C.W.A. during periods of urgent need,” according to its website. “In the event of a fire, low tank levels mean emergency services may not have the water they need to respond.”
Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez mentioned during her liaison report at the East Hampton Town Board meeting Tuesday that residents could expect robocalls from the water authority. “The community needs to conserve water,” she said.
The water authority issued a Stage 1 alert late last July as well.
