Aberdeen Twp. Asks Residents To Limit Outdoor Water Use

ABERDEEN, NJ — On Thursday, Aberdeen Township again asked residents to conserve and restrict outdoor water use.

This comes one week after New Jersey American Water made the same request, asking customers in Monmouth and Ocean counties to begin conserving water by watering their yards on odd/even days.

Is New Jersey in a drought? In some parts of the state, yes. These drought maps were released Thursday, July 28 that show which NJ counties are in a drought: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu...

All of Central Jersey, including Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Hunterdon counties are in a drought. Other counties such as Monmouth, Morris, Atlantic, Cumberland and Cape May are reporting “abnormally dry” conditions, but they are not technically in a drought status.

This week, the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection also urged residents to limit water use, particularly outdoors and for lawn maintenance.

“Now is the time for New Jersey to be especially mindful of water usage and proactively moderate our consumption,” said DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette on July 26. “Although our reservoirs and other indicators are healthy, persistent hot and dry weather coupled with the high water demands of summer can quickly impact water supply. Simple steps, like reducing lawn and landscape watering, go a long way in preserving our water supplies and avoiding the necessity of significant restrictive measures.”

"Given the recent consecutive days of hot, dry weather in Aberdeen, the Aberdeen Township Water Department is asking that customers restrict their outdoor water use to odd/even days until further notice to help ease the demand on water supplies," said Aberdeen Twp. in a statement Thursday. "Practice odd/even watering now to help the company manage a finite supply of water."

Here are the guidelines for watering your yard:

• Use outdoor water such as a hose or sprinkler on odd-numbered days of the month if your street address is an odd number (i.e., 23 Oak St., 7 Maple Ave.)
• Use outdoor water such as a hose or sprinkler on even-numbered days of the month if your street address is an even number (i.e., 6 Oak St., 354 Maple Ave.)
• Water early or late in the day to minimize evaporation (Exceptions are: Watering of new sod or seed if daily watering is required. However, it is recommended that any planting of new sod or seed that has not already taken place be delayed until the fall)