Rockland Water Task Force Seeks Public Participation On Draft Conservation Plan

New Participants Encouraged To Help Craft Final Water-Saving Plan

New City, NY (July 26, 2019) – Many valuable ideas for conserving water have been incorporated into a new Draft Comprehensive Water Conservation and Implementation Plan for Rockland County – and the public’s participation in finalizing the plan is invited by the Rockland Water Task Force.

“Rockland County is moving forward to secure our water future and the public’s input is critical to developing a successful water conservation program,” Rockland County Legislator Harriet Cornell, who is chair of the Water Task Force, said.

Legislator Cornell and County Executive Ed Day have invited residents, businesses, municipalities, local colleges and universities, and others to participate in the effort.

Cornell points out that Rockland – geographically, the smallest county in the state – is in a unique situation because most of the water it uses comes from within its own borders. That’s in stark contrast to some other communities. For example, New York City relies on a series of large reservoirs located upstate for its significant supply of water for drinking, fighting fires, and other needs.

“All of the experts we have interacted with have come to the same conclusion: If Rockland County wants to avoid, or at the very least, delay the construction of extremely costly new infrastructure, we need to develop a plan and a program for successful water conservation,” Legislator Cornell said.

Rockland is getting assistance in developing such a program from Jacobs Civil Consultants, Inc., a Manhattan-based company hired by the county thanks to funds awarded to the Water task Force by the State of New York. The consultant, working with the Water Task Force, has now developed a 97-page draft plan that also incorporates stakeholder suggestions from a March strategy session that involved some 100 participants.

The draft plan is available for review in advance of the next session on Tuesday, July 30. Invitees to the meeting have been asked to scrutinize the report in advance so it can be discussed and any additional suggestions can be made. Members of the public interested in attending are asked to do the same.

Read the report here: Draft Water Conservation Plan.

The Water Task Force Strategy Session will run from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, July 30, at the Rockland County Fire Training Center, 35 Firemen’s Memorial Drive in Pomona. Breakfast will be offered at 8:30 a.m. Kindly RSVP to Pam Sitomer at [email protected] or (845) 638-5753.