Mayor Adams Elevates Drought Level to Warning, Pauses Delaware Aqueduct Repair Project, Orders City Agencies to Implement Water-Saving Measures and New Yorkers to Continue[...]

November 18, 2024

Watch a recording of this announcement on YouTube

Comes After City Saw Longest Rainless Streak in Recorded History; City's Water Supply Needs Almost Eight Inches of Rain to Reach Normal Levels

Drought Warning is Second of Three Levels of Water Conservation Declaration Possibly by City; Mayor Issued Drought Watch on November 2nd

Mayor Banned Grilling in Parks, Urged New Yorkers to Take Additional Precautions and Preserve Water Following Forest Fire in Prospect Park

Last Drought Warning Issued in 2002

NEW YORK-New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala today elevated the citywide drought watch to a drought warning and paused the final phase of DEP's largest ever infrastructure repair project-the $2 billion Delaware Aqueduct Repair Project-amid a historic and continued precipitation shortage. As such, Mayor Adams ordered city agencies to implement a range of drought protocols to conserve water and reminded New Yorkers to continue to do their part in saving water wherever possible. Pausing the repair project will allow the city to reopen the aqueduct soon, restarting the flow of water from four additional reservoirs. Conserving water will slow the depletion rate of the stored water in city reservoirs and can potentially postpone or eliminate the threat of a serious shortage. Mayor Adams and Commissioner Aggarwala first issued a drought watch back on November 2.

Read the full Mayoral Press Release.