The mayor of New York, Eric Adams, issued this Monday a drought warning in the city – the first since 2002 – due to lack of rainfall, and has announced a series of measures to save water such as the temporary suspension of repairs to its main aqueduct.
On November 2, Adams already urged municipal agencies to continue drought protocols and asked New Yorkers to continue saving water in the face of the city’s historic and continuing lack of rainfall, according to a statement.
In recent weeks, arid conditions in the country’s northeast have caused several wildfires, some of them in city parks.
The main measure of the Mayor’s Office will be temporary suspension of repairs to the Delaware aqueductwhich covers about 138 kilometers and transports half of the water supply from the Catskill Mountains (in the north of the state) to the city.
The final phase of the repair project had an investment of 2,000 million dollars – being the largest infrastructure project in the history of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection – and would have prevented 35 million gallons of drinking water from leaking all days on the ground in the north of the state.
Water for 10 million residents
According to the statement, this department, which provides high-quality drinking water to nearly 10 million residents every day – 8.3 million of them in New York City – will work to restart the project next year.
As conditions evolve, the city could declare a drought emergency, which means increased requirements for government agencies and New Yorkers to reduce water use.
“We need New Yorkers to continue saving water so we can water our parks and fill our pools next summer. New Yorkers always take care of each other. We are resilient and together we will get through this,” Adams said.
To deal with the lack of rain, the Cleaning Department will suspend the washing of streets and vehicleswhile the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, police and firefighters will close illegally opened hydrants and similarly reduce vehicle washing.
Likewise, pipe repairs will be made to prevent water loss and schools will teach an awareness program on water conservation.
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