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NJ Drought Warning Declared, Water Supply Decreases

Vaseline November 13, 2024

Water engineers and conservationists issued a dire warning about New Jersey’s growing drought during a statewide hearing Tuesday.

Concerns about water pressure to fight fires, including the massive outbreak of wildfires that have ravaged the state this fall, and dwindling drinking water supplies were the main issues raised at a meeting hosted by officials with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Environmental officials sought public input when they raised the drought alert level from a ‘Watch’ to a ‘Warning’. The declaration gives officials the authority to issue orders to water suppliers to help conserve water and manage supplies.

If Governor Phil Murphy declares a drought emergency in the future, mandatory restrictions could be imposed on certain types of water use, such as lawn irrigation.

During Tuesday’s hearing, state officials shared information with the public showing that many of the state’s largest reservoirs had less than half their drinking water capacity.

“When someone tells you you can’t water your lawn, it gets people’s attention,” Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, told state officials at the hearing. “And that’s honestly where we need to go.”

Like O’Malley, other environmentalists and water authority leaders urged state officials to take swift action to limit excessive water use across the state to protect the dwindling drinking water supply.

After months of historically dry and warm conditions across New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection has been assessing the status of the water reservoirs and receiving comments from environmentalists, farmers, agricultural policymakers, residents and local water suppliers.

“If this drought continues next year, we’re going to really take a hit and be in real trouble in May, April and June,” when water demands typically increase due to lawns, gardening and agricultural needs. , Nathan Kiracofe, a water utility engineer for Livingston Township in Essex County, told state environmental officials.

A wildfire in Livingston in October helped deplete the community’s already shrinking water supply, he said.

Daniel Lee, city engineer for Rahway in Union County, also urged state officials to consider the needs of downstream communities in New Jersey. The city’s drinking water supply and firefighting water come from the Rahway River, making residents vulnerable if upstream communities withdraw excessive amounts of water, he said.

According to state officials, stream flows and reservoirs are currently at levels well below normal levels for November. Water supplies typically decline in late summer and early fall, but the trend usually reverses by November and reservoirs are refilled due to lower water demand and fall rains.

This year was the exception, state officials said.

“2024 was warm and dry,” said state geologist Steven Domber of the Department of Environmental Protection. “September and October were the driest two-month period on record, with October also being the driest month on record. And streamflow, groundwater and reservoir levels all reflect this consistent drought and warm temperatures for most of the year.”

Due to higher than normal temperatures, water demand is higher than normal in November, he said. Water use for agriculture and lawn watering continued as usual later in the season.

New Jersey “essentially had a shutout due to precipitation in the month of October,” said state climatologist David Robinson of Rutgers University. New Jersey recorded 0.02 inches of precipitation in October, while 4.19 inches is the average, he said.

“We were able to squeeze out some rain in September and late August, but you can see a very bleak picture (in terms of drought) across the state, a picture that is only getting worse,” Robinson said.

The stock of reservoirs is decreasing

As of Nov. 7, Manasquan Reservoir had less than 52% of its nearly 4.7 billion gallons of water storage capacity, according to the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, which manages the Manasquan, Spruce Run and Round Valley reservoirs.

In northern New Jersey, Spruce Run Reservoir in Hunterdon County was at less than 32% of its 3.5 billion gallon capacity as of Nov. 12, according to the Water Supply Authority.

Round Valley Reservoir in Hunterdon County fared better, with more than 90% of its nearly 50 billion gallon capacity, according to the agency.

In Passaic County, the Wanaque, Monksville and Greenwood Lake reservoirs were at 36% capacity Tuesday, according to the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, which oversees the reservoirs.

“I see this as a point where we need to take deliberate action to prevent a potential problem in the future,” Daniel Loveland Sr., executive director of the Hamilton Township Municipal Utilities Authority in Atlantic County, told me. environmental officials Tuesday.

“It makes it difficult to ask our customers to make voluntary cuts when we don’t know what other areas are doing,” he said. “So I would encourage the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) to take proactive, blanket measures now so that we can be consistent in our approach as operators.”

Climate change is bringing not only extreme rainfall to New Jersey, but also severe droughts, says O’Malley of Environment New Jersey. The explosion of forest fires in the region is directly linked to the current drought and changing climate, he said.

“We can’t just depend on rain to solve this,” he added. “We need – not just individuals – but we need water suppliers and the (state environmental) department to basically give a hard truth that… we don’t know when this is going to end, and we have to act as if this isn’t going to happen. The drought crisis must end. And a drought emergency must be declared to ensure that we are not having the same conversation in three months’ time with even lower (water) levels.”

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who is involved in education and the environment. She has been working for the press for over sixteen years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, [email protected] or 732-557-5701.