Suffolk Water Authority says water use is pushing system 'to its limit,' urges customers to avoid lawn sprinkling

As hot, dry weather continues this summer, Suffolk County water officials are urging customers to cut back on their water usage as storage tanks are running "dangerously low" at times.

"Peak demand has reached 520,000 gallons per minute multiple times this summer, pushing the system to its limits," said a statement from the Suffolk Water Authority, which added that it has experienced several consecutive weeks of high water use overnight.

"When this occurs the water storage tanks in several areas start the day at low levels and are taking longer than expected to recover. These tanks are critical to keeping water pressure at required limits across the system," the statement said. "When tank levels drop too low, that pressure drops as well — meaning homes and businesses may see reduced flow, and in the event of a fire, emergency services may not have the water they need to respond."

Long Island is now in an "abnormally dry" status, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. That is the lowest of five categories measuring drought.

SCWA customers are in a Stage 1 Water Alert, which was first issued on July 23.

The water authority "is imploring customers" to stop lawn watering but said if it's "absolutely necessary," customers with odd-numbered addresses should water only on odd-numbered days and those with even-numbered addresses would water only on even-numbered days.

Customers were also advised to avoid lawn watering from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The forecast for Wednesday and Thursday calls for patchy fog and a chance of thunderstorms, some of which could bring heavy rainfall.

Wednesday is expected to be the hottest day of the week. The high will be in the mid 80s but high humidity will "make some locations feel like temperatures will be in the middle to upper 90s."

Skies should clear Friday, bringing sunshine and a high of 84 degrees. The forecast calls for terrific beach weather Saturday and Sunday, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s.

Air quality, which had been unhealthy for Long Island Tuesday due to ozone pollution, is forecast to be moderate to good Wednesday, according to the federal website AirNow.