Water District Offers Best Practices and Tips to Help Lower Third Quarter Bills

Plainview, N.Y.—The Plainview Water District (PWD) would like to remind residents that July is Smart Irrigation Month! This time of the year is a great reminder of the benefits of smart controllers and their ability to reduce water consumed by irrigation systems by up to 30 percent. With the warm and dry summer weather, District-wide water pumpage numbers are up significantly due to the high use of irrigation systems. As part of its Preserve Plainview initiative, the District would like to provide residents with ways to save water around their homes and businesses.

“Every summer, the District sees increased water usage that is almost exclusively attributed to irrigation systems,” said PWD Commissioner Marc Laykind. “We highly encourage all residents and businesses throughout the District to prioritize conservation efforts and implement best practices into their daily routines. In doing so, we are making a great impact on the protection of our water source and not overburdening our infrastructure.”

Water consumption in the Plainview-Old Bethpage community nearly triples during the summer months. Water conservation will not only reduce unnecessary water waste and save residents money, but will significantly decrease excess pumpage of the aquifer and stresses to the District’s groundwater wells and treatment systems.

The Plainview Water District strongly recommends consideration of swapping your standard automatic irrigation timer with a smart irrigation controller to help increase conservation efforts locally. Smart controllers use a Wi-Fi connection to tap into local weather stations to automatically adjust watering schedules based on past, present and future local weather conditions, ensuring that lawns and gardens only receive the precise amount of water they need in order to stay lush and green.

“Smart irrigation controllers are incredibly useful tools to assist with any irrigation routine,” said PWD Commissioner Andrew Bader. “These devices are known to significantly reduce water usage by creating the appropriate watering schedules for the area. We encourage any residents of the POB community to install this helpful technology as it will create positive benefits to water conservation goals as well as lower their third quarter bills during the summer months.”

Smart irrigation controllers are effective at reducing water use because they use information such as local weather conditions, plant type and soil moisture levels to determine accurate landscaping water needs. The systems also adjust to weather conditions automatically, allowing lawns and gardens to thrive under optimal watering conditions without any user intervention. 

“While there are no current water shortages, it is our duty to take appropriate precautions to help preserve Long Island’s water source,” said PWD Commissioner Michael Chad. “There are many simple best practices that we can all use throughout the community to create a positive impact. Smart irrigation controllers can assist in improving conservation while creating healthier, more resilient lawns and simultaneously helps lower third quarter bills.”

Here are some simple ways to conserve water this summer:

• Follow Nassau County’s Lawn Watering Ordinance
  • Watering is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Odd-numbered homes can only water on odd-numbered days.
  • Even and non-numbered homes can only water on even-numbered days.
• Install a rain sensor or check that your current rain sensor is functioning properly.
• Use a drip irrigation system to limit water lost through evaporation and improve amount of water delivered to root systems.
• Consider planting drought-resistant shrubs and flowers in your garden or mulch around existing flower beds to retain additional water.

For further information, or if you have any questions, please call the District at 516-931-6469, email info@plainviewwater.org or visit www.plainviewwater.org. Residents can also sign up to receive information by submitting their email address through the District’s homepage or following them on Facebook in order to stay up-to-date with District activities and initiatives.

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