Sprinklers at the Bradley Beach boardwalk, July 5. Photos by Mary Walton
By Mary Walton and Charles Layton
Despite a countywide ban on outdoor watering, the Borough of Bradley Beach has had all its oceanfront sprinklers running full blast for most of this week.
These are the sprinklers that water the extensive grassy areas and flower beds all along the boardwalk.
We have personally observed these sprinklers every morning since last weekend, when the watering ban was imposed.
On Friday morning we encountered a Public Works employee near one of the flower beds. He told us the sprinklers had all been turned off on Thursday. He seemed irritated when we told him we had seen several still going strong just minutes earlier. He continued to insist they had all been turned off and then said he’d had nothing to do with it.
Borough Administrator Gail O’Reilly also seemed impatient when we called her on Friday morning to ask if she could explain why Bradley had been violating the ban all week.
“I was informed that the sprinklers had been turned off,” she said. We pressed her to explain why they had been on all week. She simply repeated that she had been told they were off. She declined to give further explanation except to say that the sprinklers are programmed to turn on and off automatically.
A water emergency was declared on Friday, June 29, for all of Monmouth County — including Bradley Beach — following a water main break at the Swimming River Reservoir. Practically all outdoor water use was prohibited until further notice, specifically including the watering of lawns, trees or gardens.
Gov. Chris Christie announced on Saturday that law enforcement officers would issue warnings and summonses to those caught violating the outdoor-watering ban. Neptune Township also announced that its police would strictly enforce the ban. Bradley Beach made no such announcement.
Thursday, July 5. Still watering away
There have been a fair amount of residential homes in Neptune that have had their sprinklers running, a couple who should know better.
Yet, I wonder why the restrictions have not been lifted. I was up on the road where the pipe collapsed. There is now a temporary 36″ main and two temporary 12″ mains installed, exactly the same capacity that existed before the collapse.
Lot’s of people put in thousands of dollars of new lawns and shrubbery this spring and we are at risk of losing them in the heat wave. Will NJAWC pay for such losses? I somehow doubt that they would.
It seems every year there is a water issue of one kind or another since NJ American took over the vast majority of the water supply. Growing up in the Red Bank (local control) area I don’t think I can really remember any issues, even during the ‘brick in the toilet’ days. If the goal was better or improved water management, I think they deserve a failing grade.
NJAWC has doubled the water rate in the past 8 years. They justify the rate hikes by saying they are investing in infrastructure. I get the same water as before, but now it costs twice what it recently did. Pipe collapses are simply inexcusable.
The story above makes clear a point that should be obvious: only suckers obey a water ban (especially ones predicated on a fake “emergency”). I have been and will continue to water my flowers and garden in the Grove. I suggest you do too.
July 6, 2012: “The Monmouth County ban on outdoor use is still in effect for New Jersey American Water customers. Work continues around the clock to repair your water system and we hope to have this completed in the next couple of days. Until further notice, it is critical that you conserve water and adhere to the county’s ban on outdoor water use.”
The sprinklers are still being used for flowerbeds on Ocean Pathway and Beach about 2:00 a.m. They have been going off all week.
Francis Asbury Manor’s sprinklers have also been running. I’m seriously thinking of watering my garden today. If I wait any longer, I won’t have any garden. Lot’s of dollars invested in those perenials.
Has anyone actually heard anything that clearly states the exact reason why the outdoor ban is still in effect? NJA puts out corporate doublespeak, pious statements that are a bunch of baloney. I think people should just start ignoring it and force their hand.
It is hard to watch a nice little little flower dry up, but grass is another story as it can just go dormant and come back to life.
I say water flowers and damn the consequences.
I guess its acceptable to just claim you were “told that they were shut off” even if you are standing in the mist of the sprinklers. Deny… deny… deny…
Here’s a hypothesis: NJ American Water has dramatically raised rates in recent years to “invest in infrastructure.” Clearly they have not done that sufficiently (having spent the money on their office buildings and health benefits, etc.) such that regulatory authorities might investigate what’s going on with all the money.
Even if the pipes did not break, NJAW would be streched to provide sufficient water during this heat wave because they have not invested in infrastructure. As a result, they are now using the pipes breaking as an excuse to make it through this heat wave. If the pipe had not broken, I suspect that they would be issuing water advisories and bans now. Thus, the pipes breaking are a convienient excuse for banning all outdoor water until the heat wave ends.
I predict that the outdoor water ban will continue until Monday afternoon, when the heat wave is to break. If that happens, I consider my hypothesis proven.
I highly recommend that the state water utility regulators do their job and investigate what is going on here. Clearly it does not take 10 days to reconnect three pipes — there must be more to the story….
That’s an excellent theory that crossed my mind as well. When this is over, as Ricky would say to Lucy: they got some ‘splaining to do!
BTW many of my neighbors have been discretely watering the last few days. One neighbor was hosing off their porch which is probably not a good idea.
The storm last night helped but didn’t produce all that much rain unfortunately. Anyone else lose FIOS service?
Lost my Verizon land line phone too. This is really disconcerting because I pay for it just in case the cell phone service goes out. BTW the cell phone servive came back on before the land line’s did.
unhappy ken