VOORHEES, N.J., Jul 08, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- New Jersey American Water has
modified the outdoor water ban for all its Monmouth County customers, easing the
restrictions that began last Friday 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.
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