Mayor Noble and the Water Department have escalated the Drought Emergency to Stage II for all City of Kingston water customers.
Based on the continuing decrease of water level at Cooper Lake, the Board of Water Commissioners voted on Wednesday to declare Stage II of the current Drought Emergency in the City of Kingston. Effective immediately, the final stage of mandatory water usage restrictions will be in place.
In addition to previous mandatory restrictions on water usage, the following measures will be in effect:
NO use of water from the KWD to fill or maintain the water level in any swimming pool.
NO use of water from the KWD to water any lawn, golf course, ornamental shrub or plant, except that water may be used to irrigate, from a hand held container only, vegetables or fruits grown for human consumption.
All air conditioning systems utilizing water from the KWD should be operated only in accordance with hourly restrictions established by the Superintendent.
All large, nonresidential water consumers must immediately reduce usage by at least 20%.
Violations of these regulations will be punishable by fines and penalties. Water service may be terminated for violations of any provision of this regulation or for any waste of water.
“We have seen no change in water usage from residents since declaring the Drought Emergency last week,” said Mayor Noble. “We are in severe drought conditions and the public must understand the serious state of our water reserve. We need the entire community to act in unison to preserve this precious natural resource.”
The complete Rules and Regulations restricting water use during the Drought Emergency may be found at http://www.kingston-ny.gov/water or by calling the Kingston Water Department at 845-331-0175.
Kingston Water Department Superintendent Matt Dysard said, “The Department will be continuing to explore all possible avenues to navigate this emergency. It is important that all water usage is carefully considered. Small amounts of conservation from each household can be significant for helping decrease the City’s water demand.”
Conservation Tips
• Fix leaky faucets immediately.
• Only run washing machines and dishwashers when full.
• Turn off water while brushing your teeth, which can save up to 4 gallons with each brushing. If everyone in the City does this twice each day, we could save 200,000 gallons of water each day, or 5% of our daily usage in the City of Kingston.
• Use low-flow fixtures and showerheads.
For updated information, please follow the Kingston Water Department Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KingstonNYWater.
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