Mayor Lee Kyriacou announced a Stage 1 Drought Emergency on August 31, 2022, as the grass is browner on every side of the street, and leaves on trees are beginning to turn brown not from fall coming, but from the heat wave. This isn’t the first time in recent years, as we had a Stage 1 Drought in 2019. There was a Stage 1 Drought Alert in August 2015, which became a Stage 2 Drought Emergency a month later in September. According to the Mayor’s press release, “these restrictions are reserved for when reservoir levels reach 60% of capacity and are outlined by Chapter 24 of the City Code.“

In the past, the former City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero provided regular water reports at public City Council Meetings if things were looking dry and reservoirs trending low. The City’s Superintendent of Beacon’s Water and Sewer Department. Ed Balicki, would give updates on rainfall and explain what was happening.

This year, while no surprise that Beacon is in a drought, and is not the only one throughout the world who is suffering from the heat, the community did not receive the same amount of in-advance updates to make the declaration less of a surprise.

Restrictions On Municipal Water Include:

No person or entity shall cause, permit or allow:

(a) The continuing leak or waste from any water pipe, valve, faucet, conduit, equipment, facility, or device connected to the City of Beacon water system, or which utilizes City of Beacon water, on or in any premises owned, leased, managed, operated, or controlled by such person or entity.

(b) The washing of any vehicle by means of a hose, fire hydrant, or other active source connection to the City of Beacon water system, except a commercial vehicle washing operation if equipment has been installed and is utilized so that at least 50% of the water used is recirculated by means of a system approved by the Department, or high-pressure restrictor hoses may be used in a coin-operated car wash.

(c) The washing of any street, sidewalk, driveway, outdoor area, outdoor steps, building exterior, or other structures by means of a hose, fire hydrant, or other active source connected to the City of Beacon water system or which utilizes City of Beacon water.

(d) The use of water from any source for any ornamental purpose, including but not limited to use in fountains, artificial waterfalls, reflecting pools, lakes and ponds.

(e) The use of water from the City of Beacon water system to water any lawn, golf course, ornamental shrub, plant, or tree, except that:

[1] City of Beacon water may be used to water any lawn, tree, shrub, garden or golf course, greens and tees only from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

[2] City of Beacon water may be used at any time to irrigate, from a hand-held container, vegetables or fruits for human consumption.

[3] Plant nurseries and other commercial users engaged in the business of growing, distributing, or selling plants may use such water on their business premises for watering ornamental shrubs, plants, or trees, provided that each user reduces its use of water by 15% or such other percentages as may (hereafter) be prescribed for nonresidential water users.

(f) The opening or use of any fire hydrant, or of the water there from, for any purpose other than fire protection except in accordance with a permit obtained from the Water Department and only for the period of and the purpose authorized by such permit and in strict adherence to all terms and conditions set forth therein.

(g) The operation of an air-conditioning system utilizing water from the City of Beacon water system in a cooling tower, unless within 30 days from the effective date of this chapter a separate meter is installed to continuously measure the flow of water to the cooling tower or the water is recirculated.

(h) The operation of any air-conditioning system in excess of two tons of rated capacity or greater or any refrigeration unit rated at 10 horsepower or greater using water from the City of Beacon water system unless such air-conditioning system or refrigeration unit is equipped with a water recirculating device approved by the Department.

(i) The use of water from the City of Beacon water system to fill or maintain the water level in any swimming pool, except that, provided the pool is operated with recirculating equipment, City water may be used to fill the pool once during each calendar year and thereafter may be used as necessary to maintain the water level in such pool.

(2) Each nonresidential user of water from the City of Beacon water system shall prepare and retain a water consumption reduction plan enabling it to reduce its use of water in stages of 15%, 20% and 25% based upon its water consumption during the calendar year. Such plans shall be designed to achieve and maintain a reduction of 15%, 20% or 25% immediately upon the declaration of a Stage I, Stage II or Stage III emergency, respectively. Each such user shall promptly implement the first phase of its plan during Stage I and shall reduce its consumption by 15%. On and after 30 days from the effective date of this chapter, each such user shall have its water consumption reduction plan available at all times for inspecting and copying by employees of the Department.