Odd-Even Watering Restrictions In Effect Until End of Summer

Water restrictions are now in effect in Barnegat, requiring residents to limit their use of sprinklers based on their house numbers until Sept. 30.

Township water utility customers with even street addresses may irrigate on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday; those with odd numbers may do so on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Lawn atering on Monday is prohibited for all. Violations carry a fine of up to $500.

Township utilities manager Roger Budd and township administrator David Breeden explained that the summer restrictions are a condition of the water permit issued to the township by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The use limits were imposed after Barnegat exceeded the amount of water it was allowed to pump from its supplying aquifer “a good 10 years ago,” said Breeden.

Breeden said he suspected the DEP would keep the restrictions in place in years to come as a way to keep water use in check during the high-demand seasons.

“Our water demand goes up 60 percent at least, and it’s all irrigation,” he said.

Other neighboring municipalities don’t face the same mandatory restrictions, Breeden said, but a few, including some Long Beach Township towns, voluntarily impose odd-even watering in the summer.

Budd said using a hose to wash cars or water plants is allowed any time, “as long as it has a hand nozzle.” The restrictions specifically deal with automatic sprinklers.

In order to limit wasteful watering, the township also posts the daily evapotranspiration number on a sign in front of the water tower on West Bay Avenue and via United Water’s website.

The figure, which is based on humidity, wind speed and rainfall amounts, suggests the watering time needed to keep lawns healthy and replace moisture lost to the atmosphere.

The township also suggests the following measures to help conserve water during high-demand periods.

If you have a timer on your sprinkler system, review the operating procedures and make sure that it really des turn on and off as designated.

1. Check faucets around the house. Little leaks can end up costing money.
2. Use a car wash instead of washing your car yourself in the driveway. Because of modern recycling systems, today's car washes are very efficient conservers of water.
3. Cut down your shower time by 25 percent. Instead of taking a 16-minute shower, cut it to 12 minutes.
4. When washing clothes, run full wash loads instead of partial loads. This holds true for the dishwasher as well.
5. Running the tap until very cold water is flowing is less efficient than putting a few ice cubes in your glass. So keep plenty of ice on hand for the summer months.