Drought watch: New Yorkers use 1 billion gallons of water a day
NEW YORK (PIX11) — New Yorkers, who use about 1 billion gallons of water a day, are being asked to amend their daily habits amid a drought watch in New York City.
October experienced the second-longest dry streak in the city’s history dating back to 1869, according to Mayor Eric Adams. There has been no significant rainfall in the last 10 weeks, officials said.
“We need a lot of rain not just a little,” Commissioner of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection Rohit T. Aggarwala said Monday.
The commissioner said the state needs about six inches of water to recover from the unusually low water levels in the upstate reservoirs, which are below the 75% mandatory level.
That’s about the same amount of rain that Hurricane Ida dropped in the city in September 2021. Thirteen New Yorkers died after Ida pummeled the area with seven inches of waterfall.
"We don't want it all at once but we need it over time,” Aggarwala said.
New Yorkers can save water by fixing leaky faucets, taking shorter showers, only running a dishwasher when it’s full, not flushing toilets unnecessarily, and not washing cars in the streets, officials said. The biggest source of water waste is a leaky toilet.
Cutting daily water use by just 5% will buy the city another day of water, officials said. If the drought escalates, the city can issue a warning or emergency.
"We're asking New Yorkers to save water to stave off an emergency later," the commissioner said.
The forecast calls for more dry weather for the next three months. The conditions make the area susceptible to fires, like the brush fire near Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx Monday morning.
Last weekend, the city issued a red flag warning due to high winds and the dry weather.
"Global warming is real," Adams said.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here.