Village orders restrictions on use

Cold Spring on Thursday (Aug. 25) extended a state of emergency for public water usage issued two weeks earlier because a prolonged drought conditions that has required the use of its reserve supply.

The village water supply is at 45 percent capacity across all three municipal reservoirs, the village said. “It is critical that all users of the village water supply strictly limit usage to conserve the supply for domestic and sanitary uses, as well as for fire suppression,” it said in a statement. “Violations of the order will result in summonses and fines.”

The village also said that because of dry conditions, the fireworks scheduled for Community Day on Sept. 3 have been canceled.

The state of emergency will remain in effect until ended by the mayor or Village Board. According to an order issued by Mayor Kathleen Foley:

■ Residents are asked to use the minimal amount of water needed for domestic and sanitary purposes. Keep showers brief; turn off faucets while washing dishes and brushing teeth, etcetera; skip toilet flushes when reasonable.
■ Limit landscape watering to new or fragile plantings. If you must water, do so early in the morning or later in the evening when water is more likely to be absorbed before evaporating.
■ Do not wash cars or buildings.
■ Limit refills on pools and/or hot tubs. Do not use sprinklers or hoses for water play.
■ Business and industries may use minimum amount of water reasonably necessary to conduct operations.

At the same time, the state Department of Environmental Conservation this month updated its drought watch to include most New York counties, including Putnam and Dutchess. A watch is the first of four levels of drought advisories and does not require mandatory restrictions.

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6 replies on “Cold Spring Declares Water Emergency (Updated)”

  1. When will the village fix the leaking water main valve at the intersection of Rock Street and Kemble Avenue? It has been leaking now for nearly two months.

  2. Considering how dry our environment is right now with a brush fire in Garrison just this past week, it would be prudent for the Cold Spring Board of Trustees to consider postponing the fireworks display planned for the Community Day/Labor Day celebrations.

    I’m not sure anyone loves fireworks as much as I do, but I worry that embers from them could spark brush fires. It would be irresponsible to tap into our depleted reservoir just to drown a fire.

    It’s doubtful the rain predicted for early this week will be enough to eliminate fire risk and refill our water source.

    Wouldn’t it be fun to have fireworks on New Year’s Eve?

    1. On Thursday (Aug. 25), Cold Spring canceled the fireworks, noting village reservoirs had dropped to about 45 percent capacity.

  3. How is it that the Butterfield development can water their lawns all night long, putting so much water on their lawns that water runs off into the highway? Have they been given special permission to do this?

    Do any of the elected officials ever read these comments?

  4. How can the village justify adding hundreds of people from the Seastreak boats to further tax our precarious water supply? Are a few dollars more important than our water self-sufficiency and the fire safety of our town? It’s not logical.

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