R-FH Outdoor Watering Still Restricted

Despite progress made in fixing the major water main break a the Swimming River Reservoir's Water Treatement Plant, the strain on the system from recent excessive heat and higher system demands has forced New Jersey American Water Co. to stick with a limited outdoor water use edict.

"In conjunction with NJDEP, we will continue to monitor the system production and key indicators throughout the day to ensure that an incremental approach to lifting restrictions will not jeopardize the outstanding progress we have made with the restoration efforts. But because of the excessive heat and higher system demands, we cannot make a change at this time," a released statement from the water company said.

A 24-inch main service line to Middletown, which was recently installed and put into service, needs to be monitored for 24 hours before restrictions can be lifted, according to the update.

Even when restrictions are lifted, NJAWC customers can expect to be put on an odd-even watering schedule so that the system is not over-taxed before completely repaired.

"Because permanent repairs will take some time to complete, we will not be able to go beyond an odd-even watering schedule for the foreseeable future," the update stated.