Saving water is essential – here’s why, Livingston officials say

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The following press release is provided courtesy of the Town of Livingston. Learn how to post announcements or events on your local Patch site.

We all know that water is a precious resource. Yet water is becoming increasingly scarce. If we use our water consciously and with the right intention, we will help ensure that there is enough water available for daily use and drinking today and in the future.

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The best and most important thing each of us can do to ensure there is enough water in our neighborhoods and for our families is to conserve it.

A green lawn may seem attractive on the surface, but a brown lawn ultimately symbolizes a higher purpose and offers more hope for our children and the future.

Water: A limited resource

We all learned about the water cycle in school. For billions of years, the Earth has been recycling its water naturally:

• Evaporation: The heat of the sun causes temperatures to rise, causing some of the water from rivers, lakes and oceans to evaporate into the air;
• Condensation, when water vapor rises into the sky, cools and condenses again, turning back into liquid that forms clouds; and
• Precipitation: When enough water has condensed and the drops in the clouds become too heavy to be held by the air, they fall to earth as rain, sleet, snow or hail.

When precipitation falls back to earth, it collects in bodies of water where it eventually evaporates again, and the cycle continues. This happens over and over again, providing us with the water we drink and use every day for tasks big and small.

However, two facts must not be ignored:

1. The world’s population continues to grow, even in desert areas without natural water sources.
2. The water cycle provides a constant amount of usable water – there is no more and there is no way to simply produce more water.

Why should I save water?

Water is a non-renewable resource, meaning we can only use a certain amount of water over and over again, which requires expensive processing and treatment. As population growth and density continue to increase, water demand is putting an ever-increasing strain on our water supplies.

By saving water locally you achieve:

• Increase the likelihood of having sufficient water for drinking, cooking and bathing during drought or dry periods.
• increase the municipality’s ability to avoid having to impose restrictions on water consumption.

By saving water on site, the following is also achieved:

• Reducing the amount of well water used in violation of New Jersey’s stricter PFAS limits.
• Reduce the likelihood that we will have to purchase additional water from NJ American Water.
• Reducing the amount by which local water prices would have to be increased if additional water needs to be purchased.

PFAS

Water use peaks during the summer months each year. With remediation efforts and action plans in place to reduce PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) levels in our water, it’s important to reduce the amount of water taken from affected local wells. However, excessive water use for things like lawn watering makes it impossible to shut off affected wells because so much extra water is needed.

But I want a green lawn! Restrictions apply to lawn watering

Residents who absolutely must water their lawns are reminded to do so only in the evening hours (see the Water Use Restrictions section below). When watering during the day, much of the water evaporates before it reaches the plants or grass.

Residents must comply with Livingston’s Lawn Watering Ordinance, § 316-20 – Water Use Restrictions, which can be found via a link at livingstonnj.org/LawnWatering.

Restrictions on water use

Watering your lawn with a hose or hosepipe sprinkler or with an automatic irrigation system equipped with a traditional irrigation controller (this includes any system that does not have a “WaterSense Certified” Smart Controller – see section below):

• Lawn watering is only allowed 3 days per week
  • Even-numbered addresses may be watered on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
  • Addresses with odd numbers are allowed to water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
  • Locations without an address may irrigate on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
  • People with special circumstances can apply to the police for an exemption from the watering regulations.
• On the three days of the week when any home or property is allowed to water lawns, watering is only permitted between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.

• Irrigation of a single area shall not exceed 30 minutes per day on any of the three days on which lawn irrigation is permitted on a property.

Lawn watering with a system equipped with a “smart” controller that is WaterSense certified:

• To be classified in this category, the controller must be WaterSense certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
  • Visit lookforwatersense.epa.gov/products/ to make sure your controller is on the EPA’s list of approved devices.
• If the controller is on the list of WaterSense Certified Smart Controllers, the property owner must register the controller with the municipality.
  • The controller must be programmed by a licensed NJ landscape irrigation contractor
    • The controller must be programmed to irrigate between 0:00 and 9:00.

• Registration is available online at livingstonnj.org/WaterSense.

• After registration and confirmation of eligibility, the municipality will provide the owner with a small flag to place on their lawn to indicate that the property uses a smart controller that is WaterSense certified.

• Residents who already have a WaterSense-certified smart controller or are upgrading to one are exempt from the 3-day-per-week restriction.
• All newly installed irrigation systems in the municipality must be equipped with an intelligent controller that is WaterSense certified.

• All automatic irrigation systems must be equipped with a functioning automatic rain sensor that deactivates the system when a predetermined amount of rainfall has occurred.
  • Each rain sensor must be capable and programmed to interrupt the automatic watering cycle when 1/4 inch of rain has fallen.

More information

The best and most important thing each of us can do to ensure there is enough water in our neighborhoods and for our families is to conserve it.

For more information, see:

• Livingston Water Works: livingstonnj.org/Water
• Livingston’s 2024 Water Quality Report: livingstonnj.org/466/Water-Quality-Report
• Water conservation: livingstonnj.org/WaterConservation and dep.nj.gov/conserve-water

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