Conserving Water Is ‘Essential’ – Here’s Why, Livingston Officials Say

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the Township of Livingston. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

We all know water is a precious resource. However, water continues to become increasingly more scarce. Using our water mindfully and with appropriate intention means helping to ensure that there is enough water for daily drinking and personal use, both now and in the years to come.

The best and most important thing each of us can do to make sure there is enough water for our neighborhoods and our family members is to conserve it.

A green lawn may seem attractive on its surface, but a brown lawn ultimately speaks to a higher purpose and greater hope for our children and the future.

Water: A Limited Resource

We all learned about the water cycle in school. For billions of years, earth has been naturally recycling its water:

• Evaporation, when heat from the sun causes temperatures to rise, making some of the water from rivers, lakes and oceans to evaporate into the air;
• Condensation, as the water vapor rises into the sky, cooling and condensing again, turning back into liquid which creates clouds; and
• Precipitation, when enough water has condensed and the drops in the clouds become too heavy for the air to hold them, and they drop down to earth as rain, sleet, snow, or hail.

As the precipitation falls back to earth it collects in bodies of water where it will ultimately evaporate again, and the cycle continues. This occurs over and over, providing us with the water we drink and use every day for tasks large and small.

However, there are two facts that cannot be ignored:

1. The earth’s population continues to increase, even in desert areas with no natural sources of water.
2. The water cycle provides a consistent amount of usable water — there is no more, and there is no way to simply make more water

Why Should I Conserve Water?

Water is a nonrenewable resource, which means we have a set amount to use over and over, requiring expensive processing and treatment. As population growth and density continue to rise, the demand for water creates more and more stress on our water supply.

Conserving water locally will:

• increase the likelihood that adequate drinking, cooking, and bathing water will be available during drought or dry conditions.
• increase the Township’s ability to avoid having to restrict water usage.

Conserving water locally will also:

• decrease the amount of water being used from wells in violation of New Jersey’s stricter PFAS violation levels.
• decrease the likelihood that we will have to purchase additional water from NJ American Water.
• decrease the amount by which local water rates would have to increase if it is necessary to purchase additional water.

PFAS

Water usage typically spikes during the summer months each year. With remediation steps and action plans in place to reduce the level of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in our water, decreasing the amount of water being used from affected local wells is important. However, excessive water use for things like lawn watering make it impossible to shut off affected wells because so much additional water is needed.

But I Want a Green Lawn! Lawn Watering Restrictions are in Effect

Residents who feel that they must water their lawns are reminded to only water during the evening hours (see the “Water Use Restrictions” section below). When watering during the day, much of the water evaporates before it gets anywhere near the plant or grass.

Residents must follow Livingston’s Lawn Watering Ordinance §316-20 Water use restrictions which can be found through a link at livingstonnj.org/LawnWatering.

Water Use Restrictions

Lawn watering with a hose or hose-end sprinkler or with an automatic irrigation system equipped with a conventional irrigation controller (this includes all systems that do not have a “WaterSense Certified” Smart controller — see section below):

• Lawn watering is allowed only 3 days per week
  • Even-number addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
  • Odd-number addresses may water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
  • Locations without an address may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday
  • Those with special circumstances may apply for an exemption from watering regulations by contacting the Police Department.
• During the 3 days of the week on which each home or property is allowed to water lawns, watering is permitted only between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.

• The watering of any single area may not exceed 30 minutes per day on either of the 3 days on which a property is permitted to water the lawn

Lawn watering with a system equipped with a “smart” controller that is WaterSense Certified:

• To qualify in this category, the controller must be WaterSense Certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (United States EPA)
  • Visit lookforwatersense.epa.gov/products/ to make sure your controller is on the EPA’s list of approved devices
• If the controller is on the WaterSense Certified Smart Controller list, the property owner must register the controller with the Township
  • The controller must be programmed by a licensed NJ landscape irrigation contractor
    • the controller must be programmed to water between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 9:00 a.m.

• Register is online at livingstonnj.org/WaterSense.

• Upon registration and confirmation of eligibility, the Township will issue a small flag for the owner to display on their lawn to signify that the property is using a smart controller that is WaterSense Certified

• Residents that either already have or transition to a smart controller that is WaterSense Certified are exempt from the 3 day-per-week restriction
• All newly installed irrigation systems in the Township must be installed with a smart controller that is WaterSense Certified

• All automatic watering systems must be equipped with an operational automatic rain sensor device, which disables the system when a predetermined amount of rainfall has occurred
  • Each rain sensor device must be capable of and programmed to interrupt the automatic irrigation cycle when 1/4 inch of rain has fallen

More Information

The best and most important thing each of us can do to make sure there is enough water for our neighborhoods and our family members is to conserve it.

Find more information about:

• Livingston’s Water Department: livingstonnj.org/Water
• Livingston’s 2024 Water Quality Report: livingstonnj.org/466/Water-Quality-Report
• Water Conservation: livingstonnj.org/WaterConservation and dep.nj.gov/conserve-water

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