Yonkers officials encourage residents to conserve water during drought

These dry conditions are affecting people across the Hudson Valley. Officials say there is no cause for concern about water access right now, but they're encouraging residents to conserve it and be more careful.

Julia Rosier

Nov 12, 2024, 3:10 AM

Updated 27 days ago

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The region is in the midst of a drought that has been unfolding for months and this is creating more brush fires.
Now, officials are also encouraging residents to conserve water.
These dry conditions are affecting people across the Hudson Valley. Officials say there is no cause for concern about water access right now, but they're encouraging residents to conserve it and be more careful.
But concerns about the drought and dry conditions are growing.
"It doesn't just affect people in Florida and California. They're here in New Jersey and New York, and we really need to take it more seriously," says Nick Gallivan, a Yonkers resident. "Going outside the last couple of days has been like, you have to think twice, like is this going to be OK for me and is it going to get any worse?"
Gallivan isn't the only one who feels this way.
"You don't want these trees to go up in flames so it affects us," says William Marrero, a Yonkers resident.
In Yonkers, city officials say every drop of water matters in these times of low rainfall and high temperatures.
"We have plenty of water on hand. We're just asking people to take little steps and conserve some water and that will go a long way," says Thomas Meier, commissioner for the City of Yonkers Department of Public Works.
Officials are suggesting taking shorter showers, tightening faucets and being conscious about watering lawns and using dishwashers.
"If each of the 220,000 in Yonkers started taking those measures, we'd save thousands of gallons of water everyday," says Meier.
Yonkers officials say these are just precautionary steps right now. But if conditions don't improve, there could be changes.
"If we get to an emergency, most of these restrictions will become mandatory," says Meier.
Some Yonkers residents told News 12 that these dry conditions are a major concern for them. They say they have already been more careful about their water usage and will continue to do so.
Tarrytown is encouraging water conservation as well. The village page says the New York City Department of Environmental Protection issued a drought watch for its customers, which includes the Tarrytown Water System.