New York’s mayor has called on residents to conserve water by taking shorter showers, fixing leaky faucets, and using other water-saving measures, after a notably dry October both in the city and across much of the U.S. In a social media video on Saturday, Mayor Eric Adams announced a drought watch, the initial level in a series of potential water-saving actions, in hopes of averting a more serious shortage in America’s largest city.
Adams directed all city agencies to prepare their water-conservation plans and encouraged residents to pitch in, such as by turning off taps while brushing teeth and sweeping sidewalks instead of hosing them down. “Mother Nature is in control, so we need to adapt,” said Adams, a Democrat.
Last month, Central Park recorded just 0.01 inches (0.02 cm) of rainfall, a drastic drop from the typical 4.4 inches (11.2 cm) in October, marking the driest October in over 150 years, according to National Weather Service data. Rohit Aggarwala, the city’s environmental protection commissioner, confirmed this as an exceptional weather event.
To complicate matters, the city is currently repairing a major aqueduct from the Catskill region, causing a greater reliance on reservoirs in the northern suburbs, which received only 0.81 inches of rain last month, about 20% of the usual October average, the mayor’s office reported.
New York City uses about 1.1 billion gallons (4.2 billion liters) of water daily—around 35% less than its 1979 peak, thanks to better leak detection and other improvements and conserve water.
Nationwide, nearly half the U.S. experienced a “flash drought” last month, characterized by minimal rainfall and unseasonably high temperatures. The northeastern region, for instance, saw an unusually warm Halloween with temperatures reaching 77-82°F (25-28°C) from New York to Maine, which experts attribute to a weather pattern preventing moisture from moving northward from the Gulf of Mexico.
The dry conditions affected shipping on the Mississippi River, fueled wildfires across the Midwest and East, and led the National Weather Service to warn of a heightened fire risk in areas like Connecticut, where a firefighter lost his life last month battling a blaze likely caused by an inadequately extinguished campfire.
