For the past few weeks, the township has been asking residents to be mindful of their water use. Officials have even said that “brown is the new green” when it comes to lawns, a status symbol that means you are treating water like the precious resource that it is.
As of mid-July, drought monitors consider Essex County to be “abnormally dry,” which is the stage below a moderate drought condition. Coupled with the hot weather, a week or two with no rain could easily put Livingston over the edge.
Although, at the moment, our wells are still producing sufficient water to meet demand, this will soon change if we don’t get some significant rainfall. Officials hope to head off this scenario by asking residents to voluntarily conserve water, before greater restrictions have to be formally imposed.
Water is a limited resource. It’s easy to forget this when we can turn on a faucet and enjoy a seemingly endless supply of it. But the fact of the matter is, our supply of water is not endless. And it never will be. Livingston, along with the rest of New Jersey, is continuing to grow. Every year, more and more people move into the area, including our own community. We all need water for drinking, bathing, cooking, washing clothes and dishes, flushing toilets, and many other everyday activities. As the population continues to grow, so do our demands on our water supply.
Lawn watering is the single greatest drain on our water supply. According to water department officials, watering lawns actually doubles the amount of water the community uses. Consider that for a moment: half of all of our potable water does not get utilized for drinking, washing, or even filling our swimming pools; it gets dumped on grass.
Livingston has a mandatory three-days-per-week restriction on lawn watering in effect this year. More information, including the days residents are allowed to water their lawns, may be found at livingstonnj.org/lawnwatering.
The township has the option to declare a temporary water emergency; hopefully, that step can be avoided by cooperative residents who voluntarily restrict their usage.Afew good rainfalls and the end of the oppressive summer heat should be enough to end the voluntary restrictions. Until then, we must be mindful of saving water.
It is also well worth noting that conserving water, according to town officials, decreases the amount of water that must be used from wells in violation of state PFAS thresholds, as well as prevents the need to purchase water from costly outside sources.
If we all practice a little conservation now, we can avoid the need for stricter, mandatory water restrictions in the future. And in doing so, we’re not just helping the environment – we’re helping ourselves.
