Despite fairly abundant precipitation in most years, increased customer demands quickly deplete water reserves in even moderately dry years. However, rainfall varies from year to year and even regionally within the state (the hilly northwest is generally wetter than the coastal plain to the southeast). New Jersey is often referred to as being “water rich” since we typically receive about 45 inches of precipitation annually. Water Conservation: Ideas for Saving Water The goal is to moderate demand should dry conditions persist. The purpose of the drought watch is to raise public awareness, formally alert all water suppliers in the affected regions, and seek voluntary cooperation to preserve existing supplies. In order to stretch existing supplies, all citizens are asked to use water wisely and avoid unnecessary water waste. Reservoir storage overall is in fairly good shape, although levels in key systems in the Northeast and Central region are below average and dropping more steeply than is normal. This is due to abnormally hot weather and very high customer demands. The status of the drinking water supply indicators tracked by the NJDEP is as follows – stream flows and shallow ground water levels are ranked “severely” dry in the three Watch regions.
The Drought Watch announcement calls for voluntary efforts by the public to conserve water, especially outdoors for activities such as lawn and landscape watering and other water-dependent activities in and around the home. The affected drought regions encompass eleven New Jersey counties – Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties. The persistent dry, hot weather pattern that has been degrading water supply indicators over the past few months, has prompted the issuance of a Drought Watch on July 25, 2016, for the State’s three northernmost regions – Northeast, Northwest and Central.
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