Amid dry conditions, Long Island water authority pleads: Stop watering your lawn

A stretch of dry summer weather is reviving concerns about high water consumption on Long Island and the consequences in the near and long term, with the Suffolk County Water Authority "imploring" people to stop watering lawns altogether.

Staff has gone door-to-door in areas where water supplies are especially "stressed" — Bay Shore, Kings Park, Selden, Southold and Montauk — "letting people know about the steps they can take to conserve," spokesman Dan Dubois said.

Water authorities and environmental advocates agree that conservation measures are needed to preserve water supplies for critical uses like firefighting and to ensure the aquifer remains at healthy levels. But that could run afoul of the green lawn, a longtime suburban symbol that residents work hard to achieve. 

Standing next to his lush, manicured front yard, Selden resident Tommy Albergo said Thursday he has received multiple messages about conserving water on his lawn and follows the authority's guidelines.

"The grass is still green, it’s really not that bad," he said. He conceded that if his lawn started to turn, he may "take a chance at night, maybe, because I don’t like brown."

Nassau and Suffolk counties have been "abnormally dry" on average since the beginning of the year, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a collaboration between the federal government and the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. 

Water use increases dramatically in the summer months, when residents are watering their thirsty lawns, and in spite of long-standing restrictions on irrigation in Nassau and Suffolk, monitoring and enforcement is not consistent across the Island. And water consumption remains far higher than the national average, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey and Environmental Protection Agency.

After a string of rainless days last month, the Suffolk County Water Authority urged its customers to conserve water, in particular by limiting lawn watering and adhering to the county’s watering schedule rules. Water tanks were running low, the supplier warned, which could lead to lowered water pressure, possibly hindering firefighters’ efforts to put out fires.

On Tuesday, the authority said that water consumption has remained high, especially at night and in the early mornings, when people typically are watering their lawns. (Nassau and Suffolk prohibit watering between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when a lot of sprinkler water is lost to evaporation.)

This time, the authority urged customers to quit watering lawns altogether. "SCWA is imploring customers to refrain from all lawn watering until further notice," the statement said.

While Wednesday night did bring thunderstorms to Long Island, based on radar and ground observation, Suffolk only received an estimated one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch of rain, according to National Weather Service meteorologist John Cristantello.

Montauk received 0.02 inches of rain, and Islip had 0.11 inches, he said.

DuBois said the rain did not change the warnings issued.

Overwatering risks

Fighting fires is one immediate concern; another is that the water levels in the aquifer — the source of all Long Island’s water, whether for firefighting, gardens or drinking — will drop.

The aquifer is in no danger of drying up. But an eight-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the state Department of Environmental Conservation released last August found the aquifer is "under stress." The study warned that dropping groundwater levels in some places are already leading to saltwater intrusion — when saltwater from the coasts begins to seep into freshwater — draining of some groundwater-fed streams and degraded public wells.

Enforcement measures vary.

The Water Authority of Western Nassau, which serves about 120,000 people in Hempstead and North Hempstead towns, has a field inspector who "patrols for off-hour violators," the authority’s superintendent, Michael Tierney, wrote in an email to Newsday. They also hire summer staff "to patrol the territory during peak pumping season."

The authority adds "service charges" to the bills of customers who are found to be in violation of the watering rules: $50 for the first offense, then $75 and $150 for the second and third, and $300 for any violation after that.

Tierney said the authority has sent 259 violation notices this year.

The Port Washington water district has implemented "an aggressive water conservation program," the district’s commissioner, Mindy Germain, told Newsday in an interview last month, including efforts to educate — rather than punish — those who don’t follow its watering regulations.

The district is divided into zones, each assigned a two-hour window (between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.) when they may water. And starting this year, automatic sprinkler systems must be outfitted with a "smart" controller, which prevents overwatering when the soil is already damp.

Violators of watering rules are subject to fines of up to $250, but Germain said the hamlet is focusing on "positive coaching."

If someone is watering when they shouldn’t, they get what she calls "an oops notice," Germain said, "meaning you made a mistake, you got it wrong, here’s how you can fix it." Last summer Port Washington issued more than 300 notices and had just eight repeat violations.

The town of Southold last month passed a law that mandates both smart irrigation systems and even-odd watering schedules, as Newsday previously reported. The new law also allows for a total ban on watering in times of drought; violators can be fined up to $1,000.

The Suffolk County Water Authority, which serves about 1.2 million of the county's 1.5 million residents, would like to see more laws like Southold’s to nudge customers to conserve. “We strongly encourage municipalities to pass ordinances,” Dubois said, that codify watering schedules — and include an “enforcement mechanism.”