City Of Kingston Declares Drought Emergency

KINGSTON, NY — The city of Kingston is under a drought emergency.

At Tuesday's Board of Water Commissioners meeting, based on current water levels at Cooper Lake, the board voted to declare a drought emergency for the city of Kingston.

Mayor Steven Noble said, with only a few months of water remaining in the reservoir, he urged residents to do what they can to conserve water in the months ahead.

"The Kingston Water Department is doing everything possible to ensure our residents do not have an interrupted supply of clean, potable water," he said.

The efforts include tapping into alternate water sources, disconnecting the town of Ulster from the city system where possible and working to find leaks in the underground system, Noble said.

"But it is incumbent upon all of our residents to do everything in our power to conserve," he said, "so that our water supply lasts as long as possible during these dry times."

Effective immediately, the first stage of mandatory water usage restrictions will be in place.

They are:

1. All leaks must be fixed immediately.
2. No washing of cars or other vehicles. Only those commercial vehicle washing operations that recycle 50 percent of the water used are exempt from this regulation.
3. No washing sidewalks, buildings, driveways, steps or other outdoor areas by any means that is connected to or supplied by the Kingston Water Department.
4. All ornamental artificial water features, such as fountains, waterfalls, reflecting pools, etc., that do not use recycled water must be discontinued.
5. There shall be no watering of lawns, golf courses or ornamental shrubs, plants or trees, except between 9-10 p.m.
6. Pools that are equipped with recirculation equipment may continue in operation and water may be used to maintain the water level in the pool. All pools that are not equipped with recirculation devices cannot be refilled nor can water from the city supply be used to maintain the water level.

All non-residential users of water from the Kingston Water Department shall prepare and retain a water consumption reduction plan, enabling it to reduce its use of water in stages of 15 percent, 20 percent and 25 percent based upon its consumption during the calendar year. During this Stage 1 of the Drought Emergency, the 15 percent reduction is consumption is immediately effective.

The complete Rules and Regulations restricting water use during the Drought Emergency may be found at at this link or by calling the Kingston Water Department at 845-331-0175.

The penalty for violating any of these rules is $50 per occurrence.