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Press Releases
Contact: Public Relations Department
Suffolk County Water Authority
PO Box 37
Oakdale NY 11769
(631) 563-0296
August 17, 1999
Pumpage Records Skyrocket
With the demand for water at an all-time high during June and July, the Suffolk County Water Authority today announced record pumpage figures for both months and for the largest amount of water furnished on a single day.
According to Chairman and CEO Michael LoGrande, the SCWA provided 9.8 billion gallons of water to its more than 342,000 residential and business customers in June. This represented an increase of nearly 3.5 billion gallons over the same month in 1998 and an all-time record. But as a period of very low rainfall continued and record-breaking heat set in during July, customer demand continued to soar to unprecented levels.
"Last month, we exceeded the previous daily pumpage record of 419,068,600 gallons five times," LoGrande said. "The new daily pumpage record was set on Sunday, July 18, when our customers used 462,532,850 gallons of water. The total consumption was an astonishing 11,287,551,930 gallons in July, representing an increase of more than 1.6 billion gallons over the figure for July, 1998. In fact, the monthly increases for both June and July also set new records."
LoGrande said the record usages were handled with little difficulty, adding that drought conditions over the last two months are not reflected in any unusual drop in groundwater elevations. "We are advising families, however, that they are using unusually high amounts of water. We have a tremendous supply to draw upon, but we are concerned that customers may be shocked by their quarterly bills later on. There is still more hot weather in store, and people should be careful not to overuse water because every drop goes through their meters. Besides the money, no one should waste pure water, and conservation is always in order in spite of our well-endowed aquifers," said LoGrande.
Deputy CEO for Operations Herman Miller agreed that SCWA employees have had very few problems keeping up with the extraordinary demand this summer. "It appears that the severe drought has had little effect on the groundwater supply," he said. "There were some pressure problems because of all the in-ground sprinklers being installed, but we still managed to get by some of the worst days."
Miller cautioned that customers who install elaborate in-ground sprinkler systems should check on whether the pipes serving their homes are large enough to handle the sprinklers and install booster pumps recommended by the manufacturers so as not to greatly affect the pressures inside their houses.
The Suffolk County Water Authority is a public benefit corporation operating
by virtue of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving about
80% of Suffolk's residents, it operates without taxing power on a non-profit basis.
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