After the Suffolk County Water Authority announced a Stage 1 Water Alert earlier this week, the agency emailed its customers Wednesday afternoon asking them to “refrain from lawn watering immediately.”
“SCWA infrastructure is reaching maximum capacity under current drought and heat conditions. You may experience low water pressure in the early morning hours, as demand is at its highest during this time,” warned the Water Authority in the email to customers. “Halting lawn watering is necessary to ensure we maintain adequate water pressure for essential indoor use and emergency fire response.”
On Tuesday, July 14, the Water Authority had issued a Stage One Water Alert for its customers in the towns of Southold, Shelter Island, Southampton and East Hampton.
“Despite rains last week, Suffolk County remains in a moderate drought. Portions of the county, particularly on the East End and Huntington, are experiencing severe drought conditions,” said the Water Authority in the announcement of the Stage One Alert. “SCWA set a pumpage record in June, withdrawing 11.15 billion gallons of water across its entire system. Furthermore, SCWA nearly exceeded its peak pumpage per minute record by reaching 540,000 gallons per minute during peak times.”
“SCWA reports high water infrastructure demand during overnight and early morning hours from irrigation systems,” the Water Authority added. “As a result, water storage tanks begin the day at low levels and require more time to refill. These tanks maintain required water pressure across the distribution network. Low tank levels reduce system pressure, which can lower flow to homes and limit water availability for fire protection. With production facilities operating at capacity, no additional infrastructure is available to meet this demand.”
As of Tuesday, the Water Authority had asked customers to adhere to odd-even watering schedules. As of Wednesday, it had asked its customers to refrain from irrigation entirely.
“Our crews are working to maintain system pressure, but conservation is a shared responsibility,” said SCWA Chief Executive Officer Jeff Szabo. “Unchecked demand risks pressure drops that affect public safety and firefighting capabilities.”
The Village of Greenport is holding a special meeting on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 5 p.m. at which Mr. Szabo is expected to speak. The meeting will be held at the Third Street Firehouse.
Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi says Mr. Szabo is expected to speak about the drought, issues with wells on the North Fork and the proposed North Fork Pipeline, a project that was the subject of much public controversy in 2025.
For details and water-saving methods, visit www.scwa.com/conservation.
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