Drought watch issued in parts of New York, including NYC. Here's what it means.
NEW YORK — A drought watch has been issued across parts of New York, including New York City, the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced Saturday.
Fifteen counties are now under a drought watch: all five of the counties in the city, plus Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
Mayor Eric Adams also announced a citywide drought watch.
This October was the driest month on record for the city after going 29 days without any measurable rainfall, the second-longest recorded dry streak. The longest recorded dry streak in New York City lasted 36 days back in 1924.
What is a drought watch?
The DEC has four levels of drought advisories: watch, warning, emergency and disaster.
In New York City, Department of Environmental Protection has three levels of water conservation declarations: drought watch, drought warning, and drought emergency.
Under a drought watch, city agencies will update and prepare to implement water conservation plans. New Yorkers are also urged to do their part to help conserve water.
"By starting to save water now, we're doing everything we can to make sure that we can water our parks and fill our pools come summer, and to stave off a more serious drought emergency," Adams said in a statement.
City DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala says New Yorkers use as much as 1 billion gallons of water each day, and if that could be cut down by even a small percentage, it could delay a drought warning or emergency, when mandatory water conservation rules would be put into place.
"Across the board, our reservoirs are at about two-thirds of their capacity, which is about 10 percent less than they should be at this time of year," he said.
According to the DEP, if conditions persist, the city could advance to a drought warning level in a matter of weeks.
How New Yorkers can help conserve water
The DEC and city DEP offered the following tips New Yorkers can follow to avoid unnecessarily wasting water:
- Don't flush the toilet unnecessarily.
- Take shorter showers.
- Don't run the tap while shaving, washing hands or brushing teeth.
- Fix leaks.
- Run the dishwasher and washing machine only when full.
- Install water-saving fixtures, such as low-flow toilers and showerheads.
- Water lawns only when necessary.
- Sweep driveways and sidewalks clean instead of washing them with a hose.
Aggarwala says for drivers, the carwash is actually a water-saving measure.
"A professional carwash is actually gonna use a lot less water per wash than just running a hose on the side of the street," he said.
New Yorkers are also encouraged to report open fire hydrants and street leaks to 311.
"When every New Yorker makes even small changes, like turning off the tap when washing hands, brushing teeth, and doing dishes, we save millions of gallons by the minute," Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said in a statement.
This is the first drought watch issued by New York City in over 20 years.