AGENCY TESTIMONY
Water conservation efforts and public engagement
0:17:23
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113 sec
Paul Rush outlines DEP's efforts to reduce water demand, identify high-use customers, and engage the public in water conservation practices.
- DEP has been monitoring water usage records to look for potential leaks and alerting high-use customers.
- Since the drought watch was declared, DEP has inspected nearly 1.8 million linear feet of water mains, shut over 1,700 open or leaking hydrants, and resolved more than 700 leaks.
- New Yorkers are encouraged to identify and fix leaks in their homes and be mindful of water waste.
- A website (nyc.gov/savewater) provides tips for saving water in daily routines.
Paul Rush
0:17:23
Regarding water conservation, the increased precipitation over the last few weeks, particularly last week, has significantly increased the volume of water in our reservoirs.
0:17:35
The precipitation allowed us to end the drought warning, and the opening of the Delaware aqueduct means that if dry conditions return, we will be ideally situated to face them.
0:17:48
In or out of drought, no one should waste water.
0:17:51
While we have been strengthening our water supply, we are also working to reduce demand.
0:17:56
DEP has been working to identify the highest use customers and has been diligently monitoring water usage records to look for any possible leaks.
0:18:07
We have been doing outreach and engagement to alert these customers to check for leaks or to advise on potential strategies to reduce consumption for big users.
0:18:17
Since the drought watch was all was declared, DEP does inspect nearly 1,800,000 linear feet of water mains to prevent leaks, shut over 1700 opener leaking hydrants across the city, and resolve more than 700 leaks.
0:18:38
New Yorkers are encouraged to identify and fix leaks in their homes and be mindful of wasting water.
0:18:44
That will save them money on water bills too.
0:18:47
In our changing climate, we need to use our natural resources wisely.
0:18:53
Small changes in daily routines can always help, and we've got a website with simple things folks can do to save water in their daily routine.
0:19:03
That website is at nyc.gov/savewater.
0:19:14
Now on to the legislation.
