Another summer has come and gone, but the bills for high water use during
this past drought continue. As the hot weather stayed with
us this year, increased pumpage due to irrigation strained our capacity to
produce. Pumpage rates topped out at over 20,000 gallons per minute during our
peak demand.
A typical sprinkler head uses in the neighborhood of four gallons per minute.
A typical homeowner who sprinkles for thirty minutes uses 120 gallons per head
every time the system is used. A typical system with twenty heads would use 2400
gallons each time it is used. If this system were programmed for every other
day, a homeowner could easily use 144,000 gallons during a billing cycle for
sprinkling alone! If the system were used for an hour, a whopping 288,000
gallons would be used!
As drought conditions continue, homeowners allow their sprinklers to stay on
for longer and longer periods of time. The resulting water use is quite large
with the resulting higher block rate dramatically increasing the amount billed.
We urge all consumers to closely monitor their sprinkler usage. Reading the
meter before and after a typical use will give you an idea of how much water
your particular system uses.
Lead Service Line Replacement Program If your home was built before 1939, it might have a lead water
service line. Lead water service lines can leach lead and elevate
lead levels in your family’s drinking water. Elevated lead levels
may cause severe health problems, especially for pregnant women,
persons with disabilities, and young children. If your house water
service line is lead, replace it now with a Lead Service Line
Replacement Program (LSLRP) grant funded by the New York State
Department of Health. More Info
On July 8, the Governor’s office announced that the New York State
Department of Health (NYSDOH) has proposed
new drinking water standards for the emerging contaminants
PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane, which are polluting Long Island
groundwater from industrial chemicals that were used and disposed
here for decades.
Read More...
We have changed our Backflow Program submittal process. Read
about the new process here