In this Issue:
Water Use and Conservation
Where Does Your Tap Water Come From
Smart Irrigation
Rain Barrels
Service Sentry
WaterRidgewood
Serving Glen Rock,Midland Park, Ridgewoodand Wyckoff
Ridgewood Water (RW) is a munici-pally-owned and operated water utilitythat serves over 20,000 customers(about 60,000 people) located primarily within Glen Rock, MidlandPark, Ridgewood and Wyckoff (an approximate 17 square mile area).RW’s source of water supply is derivedfrom about 50 deep wells locatedwithin these four towns. The wells are drilled deep into the rock aquifer providing water that is naturally high in quality and abundantin minerals. Ridgewood Water alsohas interconnections with United Water New Jersey and the Borough ofHawthorne.
We have dedicated thisnewsletter to Water Conservation.As we would like our customers to make water conservation a part of their everyday lives, we especially ask our customers to take a good look at the amount of water being used in and around their homes
during the summer months and establish smart water-using habits.Water saving tips are outlined in theconservation section of our website athttp://water.ridgewoodnj.net.
From October through Aprilthe average water demand for RW customers is about 8 million gallonsper day (MGD), but from May throughSeptember the demand could rise to almost 27 MGD, with an average of about 13 MGD. This excess waterusage is primarily due to lawnirrigation.
The NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) re-quires all public water supply utilitiesto maintain a water conservation and drought management plan. As a result, and in order to mitigate the excess water use during the summer, Ridgewood Water imposeswater restrictions that are in effectfrom May 1 through September 30.These Stage I restrictions provide for
alternate day watering. Restrictionshave the potential to become more severe if temperatures increasesignificantly and average rainfall decreases. Details of our water restrictions are available in the conservation section of our website athttp://water.ridgewoodnj.net.
Spring/Summer 2009Newsletter
How much water are you using?Below is a list of the average amount of water commonly used around the house unless you have water efficient devices/appliances.
Toilet3 to 5 gallons per flush
Shower30 to 40 gallons
Washing machine 40 to 50 gallons/load
Lawn Watering5 to 20 gallons per minute (with an average time of 1 hour, that’s up to 1,200 gallons!)
Dishwasher10 to 15 gallons/load
TipToilets can leak up to 500gallons a day. To check fortoilet leaks, put a few dropsof food coloring in the toilettank. If the color appears inthe bowl (without flushing),you have a leak.
FactStudies have shown thatmost people over-watertheir lawns and gardens in summertime, thereforewasting water and money.For our service area, lawnsonly need about 1 inch ofwater per week.
Do you know whereyour drinking water
comes from? What would you say if someone toldyou that it is possible to get water out of rock? Thewater that is supplied to you by Ridgewood Water actually comes from the underlying bedrock, morespecifically the rock aquifer. Aquifers are undergroundlayers of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsoli-dated material. The rock formation of an aquifer consists of small spaces or fractures that are capable of retaining water. The underlying bedrock in our area is the Ridgewood/Brunswick Shale andSandstone formation.
Water that comes from an aquifer is calledgroundwater. Water derived from streams, rivers andlakes is known as surface water. All of the water
supplied by Ridgewood Water is exclusively ground-water with the exception of the interconnection withUnited Water. The groundwater is retrieved out of therock aquifer via deep wells that have been drilled intothis aquifer. The Ridgewood Water wells are typicallyabout 300 ft deep. Groundwater, which starts out asrain or snow, slowly seeps into the ground and finds itsway into the aquifer. Aquifers are almost entirely dependant on rainwater for replenishment or recharge.In periods of dry weather the amount of recharge tothe aquifer is diminished, leading to reduced levels ofaccessible water. An increase in paved surface areamay also reduce the amount of water that could be replenished to the aquifer.
Since a majority of the water supplied byRidgewood Water is from groundwater, and due to acombination of capacity constraints of the aquifer during dry periods and high demands during the summer, Ridgewood Water imposes mandatory waterrestrictions on lawn irrigation.
Knowing where your water comes from andhow it gets replenished tells a great deal about the delicate balance of rainfall and our groundwater source.Ridgewood Water customers should keep this in mindwhen using water in and around the home, especially during summer months. Conservation begins withyou. For conservation tips or information about water re-strictions visit our website at http://water.ridgewoodnj.net.
A message from Ridgewood Water
Water Use and Conservation
WHERE DOES YOUR TAP WATERCOME FROM?
Questions?Call our customer servicecenter at 201-670-5520 or visit our website athttp://water.ridgewoodnj.net
Ridgewood Water131 N. Maple AvenueRidgewood, NJ 07451
Ridgewood Water isproud to introduce thisnewsletter. Our plan isto continue sendingnewsletters with yourwater bills periodically toadvise our customers onwater-related ssues.
Oct - April
May - Sept
8 MGDAverage
27 MGDPeak
13 MGDAverage
Annual Water Use TrendsMillion gallons per day (MGD)
Serving Glen Rock, Midland Park, Ridgewood and Wyckoff
Overwatering with an automatic sprinkler system is the number onemistake that homeowners make when it comes to lawn care. Most irrigated lawns receive twice as muchwater than is actually needed making lawns more susceptible to fungal disease, not to mention the waste of water and money. Turf grass typically only needs about 1 inch ofwater per week. Below are ‘smart’ irrigation tips worth considering thatinclude landscaping practices and newtechnology to conserve water and optimize lawn health.
A simple way to determinehow much water is being applied toyour lawn is to place a few cups or cans out in the lawn before water-ing and measure the average amountof water that is collected. Multiply the collected amount by the number of times your sprinkler runs per week. Use this information to adjustyour sprinkler system so that you supply your lawn with 1 inch of waterper week.
Install a rain sensor to yourexisting sprinkler system. This inexpensive technology saves preciouswater resources and reduces your annual water costs by preventing a
system from running during or after a rain event. Don’t be caughtagain watering your lawn while it israining.
Adjust watering time andfrequency based on the season andweather conditions. Lawns generallyrequire less water in the cooler springand fall months. Less frequent but
longer watering periods promotedeeper root systems that are more resilient in drought conditions. See illustration above.
Smart Irrigation Systemscontrol the sprinkler system by auto-matically adjusting the frequency andduration of water applied to a lawn
based on evapotranspiration (ET)rates. ET is the relationship of evaporation of water from soil andwater loss from plants known as transpiration. The ET rate determinesthe amount of water a plant needs.Many existing systems can be upgraded to take advantage of “Smart Irrigation Technology.” TheSouth Jersey Resource Conservationand Development Council (SJRCD)posts a suggested watering schedule based on our area’s ET rate atwww.sjrcd.org/public/haworth.html. Itis available between May 1 and September 30.
Water saving drip systems,smart irrigation controllers, and waterharvesting systems such as rain barrels are environmentally-responsi-ble watering alternatives that savenatural resources and cut your landscaping costs.
A professional irrigationaudit can help ensure each zone is appropriately watered at its optimaltime and duration depending on sun,shade, type of soil, etc. The same watering times should almost neverapply to all zones in a system.
Finally, routine maintenancegoes a long way. Check your systemfor leaks, clogged heads and filters,and watering pattern to ensure no hardsurfaces, such as pavements, are receiving water. Plant growth mayblock sprinkler heads and reduce system efficiency.
Water is such a vital natural resource,yet it is commonplace to treat it as awaste product as our clean watersupply dwindles during the summermonths. Rainwater typically flowsfrom roof tops through rain guttersand finds its way into the streets and gutters, pickingup pollution and contributing to area flooding and erosion of streams and rivers. A simple item that anyonecan use is a rain barrel, which collects rainwater fromroof gutters to use for watering gardens and lawns. By
rerouting rain gutters into a collectionsystem, a homeowner can harvest avaluable resource, reduce spread ofpollution and save money all at thesame time! Use of rainwater to irrigate
will help reduce the demand on thewater that is contained within the rock aquifer, whichcan be very limited during the summer months.
Rain barrels are available in a variety ofshapes, sizes and styles to meet your aesthetic andfunctional needs.
Some of the following features and accessories make a rain barrel easy to use.
A cover or lid, to prevent mosquito’s from breeding.
An overflow (hose) as large as the inflow (hose or roofleader) that directs excess water away from yourfoundation
A filter that will keep debris out of the rain barrel.
A diverter that allows you to keep water out of thebarrel in winter months.
A spigot or housing for a hose attachment.
Who maintains your water service pipe?
Many homeowners are unaware that they are financially responsible formaintaining the water servicepipe between the curb line and the water meter. If yourservice line breaks, it can be a disruptive and costlyproblem, not to mention a waste of water.
Average repairs can cost$2,000 to $3,000 and are not covered by most homeowners’ insurance policies.
Service Sentry is designed to protect you from the problems associated with a broken water service line foronly $12.50 per quarter (most single family homes).We’ll repair your water service line and restore yourlawn and sidewalk promptly and efficiently.
For more details call our customer service center at 201-670-5520 or visit our website at http://water.ridgewoodnj.net.
Courtesy University of Minnesota Extension
RainBarrels
SMART IRRIGATION
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A special thanks to the following people for contributing to thisnewsletter:Naomi GamorraGlen Rock Environmental Commission - Member
Robert SchuckerCertified Landscape Professional
Ed SchwartzRidgewood Environmental Advisory Committee - Chairperson
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