Ridgewood Water Restrictions Could be Eased Soon

Water restrictions put in place in response to two months of supply concerns could be lifted entirely in the near future.

Thanks to this past weekend's rainfall, Ridgewood Water is "in very good condition," according to Director Frank Moritz, and the utility is at the point where it will revisit easing water restrictions this weekend.

"We'll see what's out in front of us a little, but other than that we're in very good shape with the tanks of the wells and hydraulics of the wells," Moritz said.

Concerns about precipitation during a heat wave at the start of the summer prompted Ridgewood Water to restrict usage throughout its system, which includes customers from Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Midland Park and Glen Rock. The Stage IV restrictions were later relaxed to Stage III, which limits when and for how long property owners can irrigate yards. The utility has said in the past that sustained rainfall was necessary to lift the restrictions.

Although the state DEP has been hesitant to call the rainfall a "drought buster," the state climatologist said at a hearing held Wednesday in Milburn that the last seven days have brought rain falls above average for North Jersey. According to the climatologist, areas in north Bergen and Passaic counties have received a month's worth of rain in that time period.

State officials were concerned with some reservoirs in Bergen County, including the system for United Water, which supplements Ridgewood Water to help meet demand. Moritz said United Water was "totally incapable of supplying what they said it would," back in July when the Stage IV restrictions were enacted, and has said that they're currently using the struggling utility "on a minimum level."

Throughout the summer, Ridgewood Water also has had issues with compliance, which exacerbated the problem wrought by the two-month dry spell. Back in July, at a Village Council meeting, Moritz pleaded with residents to abide by the rules.

"I've never seen anything like it," he said of the lack of compliance at the time.

While overall compliance "hasn't been stellar," he said it has improved lately.

Moritz said he doesn't believe all violators are doing so intentionally. "A lot of our customers in the summertime are sometimes not home or have trouble adjusting the sprinkler system."

As far as enforcement, "we can ask them to shut it off as a utility member, but only the police can issue a ticket." 

All municipalities in Ridgewood Water's system are expected to abide by restrictions and are under the same enforcement policies. The utility itself cannot fine residents of surrounding towns for breaking restrictions and must ask for compliance from the municipality's police department.