New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) issued a drought watch Saturday for the city after a very dry October. He is urging residents to take less time in the shower, shut off their taps when not in use and to avoid any water waste, the Associated Press reported.
A drought watch is one of three emergency responses to low water levels. Adams is hoping it will be sufficient before more precipitation replenishes the city’s water supply. “Mother Nature is in charge, and so we must make sure we adjust,” said Adams.
The mayor has told all city departments to begin implementing their water conservation plans while telling the public to be creative in finding ways not to use or waste water,by not leaving the water running while brushing teeth and using a broom to clear dirt or debris instead of a hose. If New Yorkers see fire hydrants gushing water for no apparent reason, they should report that to authorities. The city recently mended a Brooklyn hydrant that was emitting water for a sidewalk goldfish pond, AP noted.
The city has seen only 0.01 inches (0.02 cm) of rain in October, when 4.4 inches (11.2 cm) normally falls, according to National Weather Service records. City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala declared the first full month of autumn to be the driest October in over 150 years.
It’s not a good time to have to fix the large, leaking aqueduct that connects a water supply in the Catskills region and have residents so reliant on water reservoirs in New York’s northern suburbs. The city consumes an average of 1.1 billion gallons (4.2 billion liters) each day, down 35 percent from where it was in 1979 when water use was at its highest, according to AP.
New York’s experience is not unique and much of the United States is in the midst of some degree of drought due to low rainfall and higher temperatures. A vast swath of the Northeast, reaching across the border to Canada, had record high temperatures for Halloween, when the thermostat registered as high as 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The dearth of precipitation has kept wildfire warnings high.