Monroe joins Woodbury in restricting water use

MONROE-The extreme heat, the excessive high use of water, and lack of rain has put Monroe at stage-one drought emergency, meaning all outside watering is strictly forbidden in Monroe except between the hours of 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Stage one is an honor system in which residents are asked to voluntarily conserve. But Village of Monroe Water Superintendent Alan Prince said he will starting sending the police out to give tickets if residents do not comply. "The people don't listen," he said this week. "I have been going around checking and people are still watering." The Mombasha Lake is Monroe's source of water. "The reservoir is down about 16 inches," Prince said. "The problem is a lot of people are filling swimming pools and are using sprinkling systems. The biggest problem is the ones that are underground, where nobody can see them." The pools can be filled once a year and they must be equipped with recirculating equipment. Until the heat breaks and there's sufficient rain, burnt lawns will be the norm. And the restrictions will put pressure on developers looking to seed or sod new properties. Prince said it is important to keep the municipality's water at a certain level in case of a major fire or water main break. "We have exceeded the amount we are allowed to withdraw from the reservoir several times in the past two months. If this continues," Prince added, "we will totally restrict the amount of water used both indoors and out." Stage two of a drought emergency brings with it $50 per day fines for violators; stage three would mean a mandatory 25 percent reduction in inside and outside use. That would be checked by reading individual water meters. The Town of Woodbury water problems are compounded in part by mechanical difficulties with one of its wells. Customers in that town can only water outside between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Woodbury's Water Superintendent William S. McClennan is pleading with residents to conserve. Harriman is in pretty good shape, according to Water Chief John Karl. "We have 13 wells and do not have to depend on a reservoir," he said. "We keep rotating them to keep up with the demand so as not to diminish the aquifer, the village's ground water supply." Karl added that he has spoken to heavy water users, such as businesses and developers, in the village, asking them to cut back on their usage in an effort to maintain the good supply Harriman has.