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.