Outdoor Water Restrictions Eased; Odd/Even Hose Watering in Place for Monmouth County Customers

Alert Notification From NJ American Water:

Lawn Sprinkler System Use Still Banned for Now as New Jersey American Water Monmouth System is Stabilized

New Jersey American Water has modified the outdoor water ban for all its Monmouth County customers, easing the restrictions that began June 29 when a bridge holding three pipes at the company’s Swimming River Water Treatment Plant collapsed. Customers may now use handheld garden hoses for outdoor purposes, every other day, between the hours of 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., and again from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. With very limited exceptions, lawn sprinkler irrigation system use is still banned. Even with the easing of the ban’s restrictions, New Jersey American Water is strongly advising its Monmouth County customers to continue conserving water both inside and out. If strict conservation measures are not followed then it may be necessary to reinstitute a stringent outdoor water ban.

“Water service is safe and reliable and we are grateful to our customers and the entire Monmouth County community for their cooperation and patience while we worked around the clock to recover from this event.  The temporary piping to bypass the bridge is complete which enables us to restore the water system to near normal capacity.  Conservation is still critical during the current heat wave as even during normal circumstances lawn irrigation places a heavy demand on our system.  It is essential that we do not exceed system capacity as customers restart their outdoor water use,” said Stephen P. Schmitt, vice president of operations for New Jersey American Water. “We are also moving forward on the permanent pipelines to minimize the chance of a similar service disruption happening again. In the meantime, our customers should follow the odd/even guidelines for outdoor watering.”  

The odd/even schedule is effective beginning today and entails:

• Handheld garden hose outdoor water use between the hours of 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.  on odd-numbered days of the month if your street address is an odd number (i.e., 23 Oak St., 7 Maple Ave.)
• Handheld garden hose outdoor water use between the hours of 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.  on even-numbered days of the month if your street address is an even number (i.e., 6 Oak St., 354 Maple Ave.)

Exceptions are:

• Watering of new sod or seed if daily watering is required (note: it is recommended that any planting of new sod or seed that has not already taken place be delayed until the fall)
• Use of private wells for irrigation
• Commercial uses of outdoor water, such as for nurseries, farm stands, power washing, plumbing, athletic fields, and car washes

As the system continues to stabilize, customers may experience discolored water. New Jersey American Water recommends running the water until clear. However, the discolored water could be used for the watering of shrubs and garden plants.

For updates, customers visit newjerseyamwater.com or facebook.com/newjerseyamericanwater.

For more information, see our Frequently Asked Questions and Answers.

Water Restrictions Lifted in 18 of 22 Towns; Middletown Still Under Boil Advisory

From NJ American Water

New Jersey American Water, in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management has lifted the precautionary boil water advisory for 18 of the 22 municipalities in Monmouth County which had been under the advisory since a bridge holding three large water mains collapsed at the company’s Swimming River Water Treatment Plant last Friday.

As part of Monmouth County’s declared Water Emergency, all New Jersey American Water customers in Monmouth County remain under an outdoor water use ban. “Water pressure in the system is stabilizing right now, so it is critical that everyone stop all outdoor water use including watering lawns, shrubs or gardens, filling swimming pools, or washing cars,” said Stephen Schmitt, vice president of Operations, New Jersey American Water. “In fact, under the county’s declared water emergency, outdoor water use in Monmouth County is illegal right now, and for good reason.” Recognizing the important nature of the issue, Governor Christie, at his press conference yesterday, committed the support of local authorities to enforce the ban.

The following towns only are no longer advised to boil water prior to consumption:

• Allenhurst Borough
• Deal Borough
• Eatontown Borough
• Fair Haven Borough
• Lake Como Borough
• Little Silver Borough
• Loch Arbor Village
• Long Branch City
• Monmouth Beach Borough
• Neptune Township
• Ocean Township
• Oceanport Borough
• Rumson Borough
• Sea Bright Borough
• Shrewsbury Borough
• Shrewsbury Township
• Tinton Falls Borough
• West Long Branch Borough

“We’d like to thank our customers for their conservation efforts thus far, and the cooperation of state, local officials, and emergency management personnel as we work through these issues,” said Schmitt.

Four towns in Monmouth County that remain under a boil water advisory:

• Aberdeen Township
• Highlands Borough
• Holmdel Township
• Middletown Township.

Until further notice, customers in these four municipalities should bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and allow to cool before using for consumption; drinking, ice cubes, washing vegetables and fruit, and for brushing teeth. Please continue to boil your water until you are notified that the water quality is acceptable.

New Jersey American Water also recommends the following steps:

• Throw away uncooked food or beverages or ice cubes if made with tap water during the day of the advisory;
• Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking;
• Rinse hand-washed dishes for a minute in diluted bleach (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle.
• Do not swallow water while you are showering or bathing;
• Provide pets with boiled water after cooling;
• Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms;
• Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries.

New Jersey American Water will continue working diligently around the clock in order to resolve the need to boil water in these four municipalities, and will ensure that bottled water is available to them.

“We are pleased that New Jersey American Water is working diligently to resolve this issue,” Monmouth County Freeholder John P. Curley said. “We also remind our residents that the water restrictions remain in effect and that the support and vigilance by residents will get us through this emergency.”  

For updates, customers visit newjerseyamwater.com or facebook.com/newjerseyamericanwater.

OEM, Freeholders Declare ‘State of Emergency’; All Monmouth County residents to follow mandatory water restrictions

For Immediate Release:
June 29, 2012

TINTON FALLS, NJ – The Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management, in consultation with the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, declared a countywide state of emergency following a water main break at the Swimming River Reservoir Friday afternoon. All county residents have been directed to follow water restrictions.

Eighteen towns serviced by New Jersey American Water Co. have been directly affected. Three large water mains broke Friday afternoon, causing a reduction or total loss of water pressure or supply.

All county residents are directed to discontinue nonessential outdoor water use and limit indoor use. New Jersey American Water Company customers are urged to follow a “boil-water advisory.”

“All of Monmouth County is in a state of emergency because New Jersey American Water Co. may have to feed off other utilities throughout the weekend,” Freeholder Director John P. Curley said. “We need to pull together during this critical time and help one another by conserving water.”

“The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office is working closely with local law enforcement agencies to ensure that an outdoor water ban will be strictly enforced,” Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said. “These restrictions are not just for New Jersey American Water customers, but for everyone in Monmouth County. Cooperation is necessary in order to maintain public safety.”

The mandatory restrictions for all Monmouth County residents include the following:

•No watering of existing lawns, trees, shrubs and gardens;

•No use of water for nonessential reasons, and

•Washing cars is prohibited except at commercial car washes that recycle water.

Towns directly affected by this crisis include Middletown, Holmdel, Aberdeen, Highlands, Rumson, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Oceanport, Sea Bright, Tinton Falls, Shrewsbury, Long Branch, Eatontown, West Long Branch, Deal, Allenhurst, Loch Arbor and Neptune.

New Jersey American Water recommends the following steps for these customers:
• Throw away uncooked food or beverages or ice cubes if made with tap water during the day of the advisory;

• Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking;

• Rinse hand-washed dishes for a minute in diluted bleach (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle;

• Do not swallow water while you are showering or bathing;
• Provide pets with boiled water after cooling;

• Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms, and

• Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries.