Water Conservation and SCWA
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The conservation of Suffolk County’s groundwater resources must be a top priority of all Suffolk residents. All of the water we drink or use to water our lawns or run a load of laundry comes from a single source—the underground aquifer system formed millions of years ago by retreating glaciers. The aquifer system contains an abundant, but not infinite supply of water, and, since demand increases with each passing year, its long-term sustainability is important to every one of us.
It’s also important to note that water conservation on Long Island is not solely about the sheer amount of water in our aquifer system at any given time. Water demand and usage fluctuates at different times of the day and different times of the year. During the spring and summer lawn watering season, the demand for water is tremendous, especially during the early morning hours, when people tend to set their automatic lawn watering systems to operate. This concentrated water use puts tremendous strain on water infrastructure. And since the Suffolk County Water Authority, like other water suppliers, must keep up with that demand, doing so requires digging more water supply wells, installing more water main and constructing more pump stations. These projects are expensive, and the costs are ultimately paid by customers via their water rates.
For these reasons, SCWA is committed to water conservation. And we want to do everything we can to help you conserve water. Below are links to various aspects of SCWA’s conservation programs and other information, including our odd/even lawn watering mandate; our WaterWise initiatives, which allow customers to obtain credits to their SCWA accounts for the purchase of various water-saving devices and/or have an SCWA expert consult with them, free of charge, about ways to save water in their home or business; the Long Island Commission for Aquifer Protection’s Our Water Our Lives water conservation campaign, which SCWA strongly supports; and general information about water conservation measures.
Please feel free to reach out to us if we can provide any further information about our water conservation programs, by calling 631-292-6101.