A Red Bank man watering his lawn during a light rain in July, 2013. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Amid the hottest stretch of weather so far this summer, Red Bank’s water supplier has instituted a water conservation restriction.

New Jersey American Water Company, which supplies borough users for half the year, issued a mandatory odd/even lawn-watering and outdoor water-use schedule Thursday.

From the company’s announcement:

“The recent extreme heat wave has prompted customers to increase their water usage significantly over the last week, and while we did previously request voluntary odd/even outdoor watering, we are continuing to see significant demands on the system that now require us to make this a mandatory order,” stated Carmen Tierno, senior director of operations. “We are putting this restriction in place to support our ability to continue to provide water and fire protection services to our customers.”

Customers are being notified via the company’s emergency notification system, alerting them to practice odd/even watering now to help the company manage a finite supply of water. The guidelines are provided below:

Odd/even guidelines are:
• Outdoor water use on odd-numbered days of the month if your street
address is an odd number (i.e., 23 Oak St., 7 Maple Ave.)
• Outdoor water use on even-numbered days of the month if your street
address is an even number (i.e., 6 Oak St., 354 Maple Ave.)
• Water early or late in the day to minimize evaporation

Exceptions are:
• Watering of new sod or seed if daily watering is required (Note: it is
recommended that any planting of new sod or seed that has not already
taken place be delayed until the fall)
• Use of private wells for irrigation
• Commercial uses of outdoor water, such as for nurseries, farm stands,
power washing, plumbing, athletic fields, and car washes
• Watering of athletic fields

The limits apply to all NJAW users in Monmouth and Ocean counties, the company said.

Meantime, the heat wave is expected to continue. The National Weather Service forecast includes daytime temperatures peaking above 90 degrees daily in coming days.

Here’s the extended outlook for the Greater Red Bank Green:

Friday
Sunny, with a high near 94. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 76. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday
Sunny, with a high near 92. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 77. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 79.
Monday
Showers and thunderstorms likely after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday Night
Showers and thunderstorms likely before 2am, then a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tuesday
A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tuesday Night
A chance of thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.
Wednesday Night
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Thursday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

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