NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Eric Adams instructed New York City agencies to enact water-saving measures and implored New Yorkers to continue conserving water on Monday as the city’s drought watch escalated to a drought warning amid persistent dry conditions.
“Our city vehicles may look a bit dirtier, and our subways may look a bit dustier, but it’s what we have to do to delay or stave off a more serious drought emergency,” Adams said. “We need New Yorkers to continue to save water too, so we can water our parks and fill our pools this coming summer. New Yorkers always look out for each other. We are resilient and we will get through this together.”
A drought watch was first issued on Nov. 2, the first of three phases in the city’s drought response. Both a drought watch and warning involve voluntary water conservation efforts, but city agencies will begin implementing drought protocols.
Departments will reduce fleet and building washing, conduct leak surveys and repairs on city buildings, assist in closing illegally opened fire hydrants, limit use for water fountains and golf courses, and more.
“The ongoing and historic lack of rainfall, both in the city and in the upstate watershed where our reservoirs are located, has become more critical,” NYC Chief Climate Officer and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala said. “Our city agencies are leading by example in finding innovative ways to save water every day.”
From Sept. 30 through Nov. 17, NYC Emergency Management said that Central Park has only recorded 0.19 inches of rain, making it the driest seven-week stretch since records started being kept in 1869.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday also declared a drought warning in NYC and the mid-Hudson Valley region, while issuing a drought watch in the remainder of the state. Statewide, the four levels of drought advisories are drought watch, drought warning, drought emergency and drought disaster.
“Recent unseasonably warm weather and lack of precipitation have led to dry conditions for many counties in New York, resulting in Hudson Valley and New York City area counties being elevated to drought warning status and a statewide drought watch,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
In order to aid the measures being taken by city agencies and the efforts being asked of NYC residents, the DEP also halted the ongoing repair of the Delaware Aqueduct, an 86-mile pipeline that carries half of the city’s water from the Catskills.
The $2 billion project is the DEP’s largest-ever infrastructure repair, and would prevent 35 million gallons of drinking water from leaking into the ground in upstate New York daily by connecting a bypass tunnel near Newburgh, where a leak is occurring.
To accomplish the repair, the city stopped the flow of water from four reservoirs that feed into the Delaware Aqueduct, but the lack of rain upstate has meant that water reserves across all the reservoirs are not where they need to be for the project to be completed in the spring. The city will resume the flow from those reservoirs to NYC in the coming days.
“DEP will work to restart the project next year to ensure that the Delaware Aqueduct—the world’s longest tunnel of any kind—continues to bring New Yorkers the best drinking water in the world for generations to come,” the mayor’s office said.
New Yorkers are encouraged to continue conserving water to prevent the situation from escalating again to a drought emergency, during which water shortage rules are enforced with sanctions and fines. Residents are also asked to follow fire safety guidance as dry conditions continue to fan brush fires across the Northeast region, including in NYC.
For ideas on how to save water, visit the DEP’s Water Saving Tips website.