Suffolk County Water Authority Declares Water Emergency, Orders Southampton Village Residents Conserve Water

The Suffolk County Water Authority has declared a water emergency in Southampton Village, ordering village homeowners to conserve water as a hot dry weather has pressed pumping capabilities to the point that firefighting capabilities are in jeopardy.

The water authority declared a Stage 1 Water Emergency over the entire Southampton Village area on Thursday afternoon, issuing an order requiring homeowners to halt watering of lawns during the early morning hours and to conserve water in other ways as well.

All irrigation is to be rescheduled away from the midnight to 7 a.m. hours, when water demand is the highest around the region because it is the most popular time that thousands of homeowners run their automatic irrigation systems.

The emergency order also asks residents to “refrain from non-essential water usage,” and to reduce shower times.

“Due to the prolonged hot and dry weather, the Suffolk County Water Authority is declaring a Stage 1 Water Emergency Alert in the Village of Southampton to ensure that there is sufficient water for firefighting and other emergency purposes,” SCWA chief Jeffrey Szabo said in a statement about the matter.

When demand is highest, SCWA has said, the drawdown of water in storage tanks that maintain pressure in delivery mains threatens the ability to deliver water through fire hydrants for firefighters to put out fires.

If residents don’t reduce water usage voluntarily, authority officials have said, the agency could take “extreme measures” and reduce water delivery to specific areas by closing supply valves.