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Rainfall Shortage Forces NYC Despite normal spring rains this year, New York City’s Water Supply System remains in a Stage I Drought Emergency, according to Commissioner Christopher O. Ward of the City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). "It is imperative that we continue to conserve as much water as possible to avoid going into a Stage II Drought Emergency," said Commissioner Ward. On June 1, the City’s reservoirs started the new "water year" with a supply deficit of 17.5 percent. The reservoirs are normally at 100 percent capacity on that date, but were at only 82.5 percent this year. While rainfall was lightly above normal over the last three months, it did not compensate for the severe drought conditions that developed during the previous nine months of the water year, when precipitation was 8.77 inches, or 44 percent, below normal. Additionally, there was virtually no snowcap in the Catskill Mountain watershed so that spring runoff to the reservoirs was much lower than usual. "Typically, during warm weather, consumption of water goes up on an average of more than a hundred million gallons a day compared to use during winter months, and water levels at the reservoirs start to go down," Commissioner Ward said. "Conservation can go a long way towards keeping consumption low and getting us through the summer without going to the next State of Drought Emergency, which carries more sever restrictions on water use than does Stage I." As of June 1, DEP had issued over 2,400 Notices of Violation for infractions of the City’s water use restrictions. Some of the more frequently cited violations include illegal fire hydrant use, sidewalk washing, lawn watering, leaks and waste of water in apartment and commercial buildings, and failure to post "Save Water" signs in building entryways. Over 200 DEP inspectors issue summonses for violations of water use restrictions throughout the five boroughs. Water use restrictions and water saving tips can be seen on the DEP Web site: www.nyc.gov/dep.
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