New Jersey governor urges all residents, businesses to voluntarily conserve water as hot, dry weather continues

CLARK, N.J. -- As hot, dry weather continues, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is urging all residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve water.

As CBS2's Alice Gainer reports, lawn after lawn in Clark, New Jersey, was yellow and brown.

"It's pretty much dried up," Clark resident Dan Blazovic said. "You go through three days or four days of heat wave and this is the result."

New Jersey American Water, the largest water utility in the state, has put a voluntary ask of customers in Union County, and also Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties. Those customers are asked to restrict outdoor water use to odd/even days until further notice to ease the demand on water supplies.

In Monmouth and Ocean counties, it's mandatory.

"Overall, our water supply is average for this time of year. Our reservoirs are at normal levels, actually. The groundwater is a little lower than normal in South Jersey," said Jeff Hoffman, with the New Jersey DEP. "But our water supplies are adequate. They're designed with dry periods in mind."

Hoffman is the New Jersey state geologist and is with the New Jersey Geological and Water Survey. He says the state is asking everyone to voluntarily conserve, but local municipalities and water utilities can make it mandatory.

"So if water supplies are OK right now, why is the state asking people to conserve water?" Gainer asked.

"Any step we can take now to voluntarily lower water use would put off any needed declaration at a later time, so we're trying to do preventative actions now," Hoffman said.

Some ways to conserve, he says, include:

• Watering your lawn only twice a week,
• Watering between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. so you don't lose water to evaporation,
• Using a rain barrel to collect rain water to water flowers,
• And sweeping driveways instead of washing them.

Worried about your lawn?

"That brown grass is not dead, it's just dormant. That grass will turn green and come back as soon as enough rain falls," Hoffman said.

"I don't know about that this year," Blazovic said.

The temperature has fallen a bit, and here's hoping for the rain to do the same.

New Jersey American Water says there are some exceptions to odd/even watering, that includes watering of new sod or seed, private wells for irrigation, athletic fields and car washes.