Question regarding 'Water Restriction'.

Of all NJ we are the only county (Monmouth County) under water restriction. Probably due to the influx of visitors along the Jersey shores. This supposedly took effect yesterday and I just learned today when NJ American Water left a message on the voice mail by calling their customers over the phone.
Even our city officials were caught off-guard with this and other town officials are furious as they were not officially informed about the matter. Can a private company legally impose a restriction without an official announcement from the State or the County? I was talking to a friend earlier over the phone and he told me his town just started using their reverse 9-1-1 to inform residents about the water restriction.
The message left on the voicemail was to conserve water, not to water lawns and wash cars, and stop non-essential use of water.

I went to their website but can't find a detailed list of what you can and you can't do, except just for the same announcement.
Are watering your flower beds considered "non-essential"? What about your vegetable beds? I don't care about the lawns.
I remember in the years past they used to set-up a rule where you can't or can do something on odd numbered days, and something like that on even numbered days. I remember something about hand watering your plants is allowed with a hose, but I just need clarification.

You can't drink flowers or put fires out with them so I would assume flower beds are considered non-essential.

What a stupid state....I go on the NJ.gov website and their water restriction info on New Jersey Drought.org is not even updated...only info from previous years
Found this on fox......
The restrictions are targeted primarily at lawn watering and other nonessential outdoor uses such as car washing

I'm thinking you can't use the hose to water.

I found this info from MD..ya think there would be some kind of info like that here....nooooo of course not

WSSC has provided the following tips for keeping plants happy during the water restrictions:
Place one to two inches of mulch around your plants.
Use water from bathing or washing dishes. Soap will not harm plants
Use water from cooking vegetables or pasta.
Collect rainwater and use it on the plants that need the most help.
Collect water from your shower rather than letting it go down the drain.
While waiting for you shower to heat up, collect that water in a bucket for your plants.
In the kitchen, rather than letting the water run until the water is cold (or hot), collect the water and use it for your plants.
Use water collected from your dehumidifier on your plants.
In the future, drought-tolerant plants make a lovely garden

My point EXACTLY Jen. No official announcement from both the county and the state. My guess is, they were never informed by the water company too. Dept. of Environmental Protection got no drought warning either in ANY of NJ. NADA, ZERO! And the water company issued the warning right in the middle of the holiday, on the 4th, on a Sunday. What were they thinking! To me that's stupid! Why not days before the holiday weekend??!!
Like what I said, the local government is of no help either. I talked to one of the cops and he told me that city hall was caught off-guard by the water company's announcement too.

As I can recall, several years back - there was a water restriction too but they allowed watering of any plants (except lawns) with a hose as long as it's hand controlled during certain time like 12 - 10 in the morning. I have no intention of watering everyday, but with temps reaching to 100 for 5 days in a row, I have to water at least once.
I have to make some phone calls to find out what the guidelines are.

and if this keeps up they'll def be spreading the restrictions thru the state

If its againt the law or not - I would water my veggies as I have to eat.

Normally, hand watering is allowed in the early stages. And drip irrigation is allowed even in later stages.

Every place is different I'm sure. There is no automatic watering allowed here ever, this includes sprinklers, drip hoses and in-ground systems unless you have a private well. Hand watering only in early morning or evening and in times of drought that is restricted to every other day or by even and odd house numbers. I believe veg gardens can be watered as they are considered farm or food production. You get a chunky fine first or water shut off and have to pay to have it turned on again if second offense.

Wow - that's really draconian. We will soon have Hudson water in the mix so we will have fewer restrictions in the future.

Well so much about water restriction. After my last post here early morning I went to take a dip in the ocean. Guess what? Sprinklers left and right, up and down were on everywhere ESPECIALLY those of the million-dollar condos and townhouses along the beach front. Even the manicured and landscaped median on the main avenue along the beach got the sprinklers going on both sides of the median and water were just flowing unto the road, So, what happened to water conservation?

Well, just went to let you guys know, I just came in from watering my beds

The moral of the story is not to listen to voicemails.

Pat, what is the source of your municipal water?? Reservoirs? Not enough capacity? Why such stringent measures no matter what??

They need to dig another well to support the increase in population over the last decade. I believe they are doing it now. People are used to the restrictions. Any time a sprinkler is on you always see a sign saying "Well Water".

Not true in NJ, if there are water restrictions they apply to those who have wells too because you're pulling the water from the same source.

So there's one big pool of water under NJ??

That's why it's called the Garden State☺....our whole area has aquafers, very high water table

And fertilized by one James Hoffa.

That always made me question the whole private well thing too. We have a high water table here too.
I thought Mr Hoffa was helping to hold up Giant Stadium or helped fill n the parking lot.

on well water here - if i am home the sprinklers are on!

It's a tossup for me what's a bigger fear/nightmare. Hail, or water restrictions.

We have drip lines in the iris beds, not been on as yet. DH never waters grass. It will come back, just don't mow it too short.

Drip hoses in the veggie beds. 'Greywater" dishwater, any bathwater you can collect, rainwater, if you have any, {we haven't had significant rain here in nearly a month}. The township or town should have posted what exactly these restrictions are, if there are watering times, etc.
Drip hoses you can turn on at night or early in the morning. I use them here on my hillside since I have some spots where you can't run a sprinkler anyway due to the terrain. an hour with a drip hose is far more efficient than the same time with a conventional sprinkler.
I am about ready to go out and wash my car. This nearly always brings on a substantial rainfall. Shall I come down to Monmouth and wash it again down there?
Martha

Well finally NJ American Water Co. posted guidelines regarding the water restriction in Monmouth County and this is what I found:

5. Are there any exemptions for outdoor uses?
Yes, there are some exceptions for reasonable water use as follows:

Watering of gardens with hand-held hoses or water cans
Watering of new sod of seed (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.
Occasional topping off of pools.
Commercial uses of water for nurseries. farm stands, etc.
Drip hoses and soaker hoses are acceptable for shrubs and gardens
Watering of athletic fields (see question 6 for more details)

Actually there is no drought in NJ. ALL reservoirs are full to capacity. They were just concerned about low water pressure with the heavy summer crowd, summer residents combine that with the hot weather.

I hate to disagree, but there is a huge drought in central coastal NJ. The last rain here was a month ago and less than an inch. Even the mature, deep rooted trees are showing signs of water depravation. I don't need a weatherman or a government to tell me that it hasn't rained. I just look out my front window(which I don't do anymore) and I know what is going on. And it's sad.

Yes, there is a lack of rain and no question about it and certainly affected any plants, trees, large or small. But there is no danger of water supply at the moment in NJ. The lack of rain, hot weather, and heavy usage of water is what prompted them to issue water restriction to avoid low water pressure in some areas.

I agree Louise, the vegetation is suffering, but the ground tables (aquifers) are still in pretty good shape. Our streams and reservoirs are still adequate, although overuse can be a problem in maintaining pressure in water utilities. Ric

Sorry Tex, we crossed post.

This message was edited Jul 7, 2010 11:09 PM

So go out and water your garden while you can, Weeze!!

And that last sentence makes sense. One shouldn't wait until the last hen ran out of the henhouse to say there's no dinner. They're right, although it breaks my heart. And my heart will break as I prune more shrubs this weekend, but it will be to preserve them for next year. Hopefully, the pop up Tstorms will happen this weekend and every day after for 2 or 3 weeks. I won't bank on that though, so I'll send my beloved hydrangeas some targeted water until someone says "no more". We're still voluntary at this point.

Mandatory watering ban here. Just won't set out iris seedlings. We don't have veggies. Can do any iris seedling watering with a can & since newbies are not set out don't have to use soaker hoses mentioned above. Way too hot to water anyway. I got a thrill tonight looking out the window & realized some bats were flying. they are getting scarce & if they disappear the mosquitos will be worse than they are.

Good for you that you saw bats.Evidently our bat population was decimated by disease. On a good note, our mosquito population is next to nothing because of no rain!

Our bat population has been in trouble as well.

Hey Thats right mosquitos are not around! But we are infested with deer flies.

Well here we go.....
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/nj_calls_for_voluntary_water_r.html

And in the town of East Brunswick, outdoor watering ban.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/east_brunswick_bans_outdoor_wa.html

One of my new Heuchera Marmalades didn't make it :(
Totally fried even though I've been watering it.

Jen, The saying goes, "a watched pot never boils" doesn't apply to plants frying. Ric

Sorry, Jen.

We had rain yesterday!! possibly some more today! Yes!!
Martha