About Conservation

Putting Conservation Into The Right Context

So your municipal authorities are asking you to conserve water. Water the lawn less often. Don’t let the faucet water run. Fix the leak in the toilet. Does it mean your tap is about to run dry? Hardly. In fact, there are trillions of gallons of untapped water pooled beneath us that we won’t have to look at for hundreds of years.

So why all the caution for water conservation? It just makes sense. Like electricity, water goes through a peak demand period during heat waves. The kids want the pool topped off. The sprinklers chatter all over town. Even the dog appreciates a good romp under the hose. All perfectly legitimate activities, and none of them threaten the region’s water supply in a big way. Instead, our requests for conservation are geared more toward preventing over-usage of water.

Here’s how it works:

Water is pumped out of the ground from wells into a distribution system, which is a network of buried pipes with customer services connected to it. Also connected to the distribution system is an elevated storage tank that typically holds around a million gallons of water high in the air. The well pumps are turned on and off so as to keep the tank full of water and at capacity when demand calls for it.

And where does the demand come from? The average person uses about 160 gallons of water a day. Two thirds of the water used in your household is used in the bathroom. You use two gallons of water to brush your teeth (unless you turn off the faucet while you brush). A small drip from your faucet can waste more than 50 gallons of water per day. That translates into more cost for you and more energy required to meet demand. Not good for your cash flow or the environment either.

While this doesn’t even begin to put a dent in our overall water supply, it does renew our awareness of its value. Water conservation should be taken into consideration at all times. Every little bit helps if everyone participates.

Part of our mission is to protect our water supply and encourage water conservation. Effective water conservation can also help reduce your utility bill in ways you may not have realized. As a service to our consumers, we’ve created a series of Water Conservation Tips for you to follow at home or your place of business.

Click here for our Water Conservation Tips

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website also has a number of conservation tips for inside your home, click here to visit their WaterSense program.


An Important Reminder About Backflow Prevention

Thinking of installing a lawn irrigation system this year? Remember, a backflow prevention device must be included within that installation. The device, which prevents contamination of the public water supply, must be tested annually. The South Farmingdale Water District will test residential backflow devices free, commercial accounts must hire an independent backflow tester. If the residential device needs repair, the consumer must hire a plumber and is responsible to pay for the parts and labor. An application is available at our office located at 40 Langdon Road. Tel: (516) 249-3330.

For more information about Backflow Prevention, click here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The South Farmingdale Water District has been unable thus far, to obtain a current list of certified backflow testers, with contact information. This link, http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking/cross/backflow_testers/nassau.htm, from the NY State website, is current, but does not have phone numbers. Although this link http://www.sfwater.com/documents/TesterList2013.pdf has expired license information, it does contain phone numbers. A cross reference of the two lists may provide assistance. We apologize for this inconvenience as we continue to try to get comprehensive information in one list.