Due to the extreme heat and lack of rain, the City of Vineland Water Utility is experiencing dangerously low water volume pumping capacity required to meet the existing water consumption demands by residents and commercial customers.

Currently, all 10 of the city’s water pumping wells are running 24 hours a day. These wells can pump 12,592,800 gallons every 24 hours into the water distribution system, but still cannot meet the consumption demand.

“Because of the situation, we have three primary concerns,” said Vineland Municipal Utilities Director John Lillie “First, due to the demand, the system is already experiencing lower water pressure than normal. Second, we face the possibility of having a demand higher than our pumping capacity, resulting in loss of water to our residents and business community. And finally, reduced capacity could impact safety in the event of a major fire which could lead to fire trucks literally sucking a main dry.”

“As a result, we are instituting water use restrictions as outlined in the Vineland Municipal Code Chapter 687—Part 4-Article 687-149. These restrictions will remain in effect until pumping capacity is restored. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause residents or businesses,” Director Lillie concluded.

Vineland Water Utility customers are asked to take the following steps to reduce their water use. Anyone with questions should call the Municipal Utilities Customer Service office at 856-794-4021, or the Water Utility office at 856-794-4056.

Restrictions on outdoor water use apply to all users in the City of Vineland at all times regardless of source of supply (e.g., public water supplies, well or ground water, lakes, streams, or ponds) unless expressly exempt in § 687-154, Exemptions. Such outdoor water use shall conform to the following water use restrictions:

• A. Car washing, pressure washing, and other non-landscape outdoor water uses:
  • (1) Properties may only use water for this purpose two days per week.
    • (a) Properties with even number addresses may only use water on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
    • (b) Properties with odd number addresses may only use water on Thursdays and Sundays.
• B. Lawn watering with a hose or hose-end sprinkler:
  • (1) Properties may only use water for this purpose two days per week.
    • (a) Properties with even number addresses may only use water on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
    • (b) Properties with odd number addresses may only use water on Thursdays and Sundays.
  • (2) Watering shall only be conducted between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. or between the hours of 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
  • (3) The watering of any single area shall not exceed thirty minutes per day.
  • (4) Flowers and shrubs may be watered as needed with a hand-held hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle.
  • (5) No hose or hose-end watering shall be permitted when it is raining.
• C. Irrigating lawns and landscapes with automatic irrigation systems equipped with a conventional irrigation controller:
  • (1) Properties may only use water for this purpose two days per week.
    • (a) Properties with even number addresses may only use water on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
    • (b) Properties with odd number addresses may only use water on Thursdays and Sundays.
  • (2) Irrigation shall only be conducted between the hours of 12 midnight and 10 a.m.
  • (3) Operation of any irrigation zone equipped with spray (mist) heads shall not exceed 15 minutes per zone. Operation of any irrigation zone equipped with rotary sprinkler heads shall not exceed 50 minutes per zone.
• D. Flowers and shrubs irrigated with drip or micro irrigation:
  • (1)  Properties may use water for this purpose as needed.
• E. State of New Jersey requirements shall supersede those identified in this section when more stringent than those identified in this article.