PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The extended stretch of hot, dry weather has prompted New Jersey to declare a drought watch, which asks residents and businesses to voluntarily use less water.
A watch is the first of three tiers of state drought advisories. A warning urges conservation, and an emergency puts mandatory water use restrictions into effect.
“We are not at a point of mandatory restrictions, either on the supply side with our water systems or on the user side,” state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said Tuesday at an online news conference. “I don’t want to sow that impression.”
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New Jersey could be facing restrictions, he said, if residents and businesses don’t voluntarily take steps to save water. LaTourette says that includes not watering lawns that are only going dormant and not dying…
“My front yard is brown. And it’s okay. And I want us to be able to communicate that statewide,” LaTourette said. “The brown just means dormant. It doesn’t mean dead. Let’s conserve the water because we really do need it.”
The DEP classifies western Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties as 'moderately dry' over the last 90 days, and the U.S. Drought Monitor labels much of South Jersey 'abnormally dry.' LaTourette said voluntary water conservation is essential because no immediate improvement is on the horizon.
“When we look out at temperature outlook, at precipitation outlook, we continue to be concerned,” he said.
The last time New Jersey declared a drought emergency was in 2002.
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