Residents and businesses are now limited to using their sprinklers just twice weekly. The mandatory watering restrictions are part of Aquarion Water Company’s effort to conserve water as the region faces more frequent droughts and demand for water is high. An overview of the restrictions can be found on Aquarion’s website.
Homes with automatic sprinkler irrigation systems often use large volumes of water—about 40% more than homes without the systems. All that water can be harmful to healthy lawns and gardens, according to the Aquarion website.
The twice-weekly sprinkler irrigation schedule runs from April 1 through Oct. 31. The schedule designates particular days for watering your lawn or garden using a sprinkler system, determined by your street address. Customers can use drip irrigation, soaker hoses and hand-held watering at any time.
Some residential and commercial customers may qualify for a variance from the schedule. You can learn more about irrigation variance programs here.
Aquarion, which supplies water to municipalities across the state, instituted the mandatory irrigation ban in Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Stamford and Westport in 2020 following drought conditions.
Easton is part of a growing list of towns in the region to follow the mandatory watering schedule, said First Selectman David Bindelglass. George Logan, Aquarion’s director of community relations, gave a presentation to the Board of Selectman on Sept. 21, 2023 about the mandatory irrigation restriction.
The water company said its ban focuses on sprinkler irrigation accounts because they account for about 30 percent of total water use and are considered unnecessary. Watering less frequently encourages more, deeper root growth and better resilience to droughts and disease, according to the company.
You can still wash your car and boat, but let the excess water soak into the ground, not onto pavement or into storm drains. Washing in the early morning lessens evaporation. Through customer adoption of the irrigation schedule, Aquarion said it has saved millions of gallons of water.
Aquarion said its main commitment is to educate the public about how to use water more efficiently and sustainably, but the company can penalize violators, including shutting off their water, if their failure to follow the schedule impairs public resources.
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