Riverhead Water District, pumping near capacity, imposes odd/even day restrictions on lawn irrigation

Riverhead Water District is implementing water use restrictions for all properties within the district, effective immediately.

The district is imposing an odd/even water schedule for business and residential properties, Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter announced today. If your address ends in an even number, you can water on even-numbered calendar days. If your address ends in an odd number, you can water on odd-numbered calendar days.

Water district customers are also urged to refrain from watering their lawns between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Walter said. Watering early in the day or later at night conserves water.

The district is consistently running at or near capacity, pumping 18.5 million gallons of water per day, just about every day, Water District Superintendent Mark Conklin said.  Consumption during the month of June was higher than a year ago and the district is on track to break the record set last July. “Those are records I don’t want to keep breaking.” Last year was a record year for the Riverhead Water District.

“We are running lower than normal pressure in some areas,” Conklin said. “We put the fire departments on alert again, telling them to roll their tankers on all calls.”

Conklin said the district is “right on the edge” with water consumption versus capacity.

“If we don’t have anything happen, we’re OK,” he said.

But anything from mechanical trouble to water quality variances could jeopardize the district’s ability to serve its customers.  One well serving the eastern portion of the district is pumping at less than its rated capacity due to an issue with chlorite, he said. A second well in the eastern portion of the district has greater capacity than its permit currently allows the district to pump; the district is waiting for a decision by the state Department of Environmental Conservation on a request to lift state-imposed caps on pumping, Conklin said. Fortunately the Calverton well that had a perchlorate contamination issue is back online “100-percent” as of the end of May, according to the superintendent.

Conklin said he and other water district staff members went to the various senior communities during the winter and spring in a campaign to educate residents about water conservation. Ultimately, he said, “people haven’t really cooperated.”  They seem willing to pay the money to pump the water to keep their lawns green, Conklin said.

“Given the current series of hot, dry days and the upcoming predicted heat wave, the Riverhead Water District is… asking customers to reduce outdoor water usage to ensure our ability to meet demand,” Walter said in a press release today. He thanked water district customers for their anticipated “cooperation and understanding of the need to alleviate our water demands by restricting non-essential water use.”