NJ American Water Urges Conservation In Monmouth, Ocean

The oppressively hot weather has prompted New Jersey American Water to urge its customers in its Monmouth and Ocean counties to take extra steps to conserve water.

A voluntary odd/even schedule for lawn and garden watering already is in place, but the company said if water use isn't sufficiently controlled, mandatory measures could be announced.

"We hope that our coastal area customers will voluntarily adopt conservation practices now to help prevent mandatory conservation in the future if the extreme hot, dry weather continues," said Kevin Keane, senior director of Coastal operations for New Jersey American Water. "We strongly encourage our customers to consider conservation when turning on the tap, faucet or hoses."

The conservation request applies to New Jersey American Water customers in the following towns:

MONMOUTH COUNTY

• Aberdeen
• Allenhurst
• Asbury Park
• Bradley Beach
• Colts Neck
• Deal
• Eatontown
• Fair Haven
• Freehold Township
• Highlands
• Hazlet
• Holmdel
• Howell
• Interlaken
• Little Silver
• Loch Arbor
• Long Branch
• Middletown
• Monmouth Beach
• Neptune City
• Neptune Township (including Ocean Grove)
• Ocean Township
• Oceanport
• Red Bank
• Rumson
• Sea Bright
• Shrewsbury
• Shrewsbury Township
• Tinton Falls
• Union Beach
• West Long Branch

OCEAN COUNTY

• Bay Head
• Lakewood
• Lavallette
• Mantoloking
• The barrier island sections of Brick and Toms River

Here are a few easy tips to save water and money:

• Follow the voluntary odd/even watering schedule for irrigation, watering only on days that match your street address number.
• Water early or late in the day to minimize evaporation. The best times for this are typically between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Set your lawn mower one notch higher to make your lawn more drought-tolerant.
• Use drip irrigation hoses to water plants, and water in the early morning or evening.
• Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your sidewalk, driveway, or patio.
• Collect the cold water that you run in the shower or bathtub until it’s warm enough for bathing. This water can be used to water indoor and outdoor plants.
• Only run full loads of dishes in the dishwasher and laundry in the washing machine.
• Fill up a bowl of sudsy water for hand washing dishes instead of letting the sink run.
• Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth or shaving.
• If your water meter is located in your house, check the meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you may have an internal leak.

"This will help us manage a finite supply of water. With some minor changes, customers can be a part of our commitment to conserving our most precious resource, because every drop counts," Keane said.

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