Love your neighbor unless he cheats New Jersey water restrictions

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has not yet issued statewide water restrictions, but nearly half of the state is experiencing unusually dry conditions, meaning many cities are already setting their own rules and limits on water use.

Pennsville, for example, has imposed mandatory restrictions on all residents and businesses until further notice. These include, among other things, prohibiting the washing of cars except at commercial car washes.

In the north of the city, watering the lawn is only allowed on even-numbered days and in the south only on odd-numbered days, and only for a maximum of 45 minutes at a time. Violation can result in a warning or a $500 fine.

Denville applies its restrictions based on home address. On even-numbered days, people with even-numbered house numbers are allowed to water lawns, and on odd-numbered days, people with odd-numbered house numbers are allowed to water lawns.

Vineland has called for voluntary water conservation, and it would not be surprising if more towns took similar action following the heat wave in New Jersey.

Which brings us to the question: What will people do if they see a neighbor washing his car, or if they catch Jim watering his lawn on an even day at 23 Any Road?

Will they call the community? Or will they mind their own business? Or is this call your business since drought affects everyone?

Ah, the moral dilemma.

I remember a drought in New Jersey in the late ’90s when there were water restrictions and people were ratting each other out like there was a bounty on their heads. If phone lines are set up that residents can use anonymously instead of having a face-to-face conversation with the neighbor who is violating the rules, it will be easier.

But should we?

We live in a time where we often don’t even know our neighbors anymore. Just because you live close by doesn’t mean a neighborhood is really a neighborhood. It’s about getting to know each other.

Understand that no one is perfect. Maybe you’ll learn that the woman in the odd-numbered house is a single mother of a special-needs daughter who can’t be left alone for five minutes while she’s outside moving lawn sprinklers, and that the mother’s schedule only works if she can do it today when her ex has the child.

I would do what I can to save water, but I leave the enforcement of this duty to the municipality.

By the way, here are some water saving tips for all of us, no matter what the situation is in your city…

• Take shorter showers
• Install low-flow showerheads
• Turn off the water when brushing your teeth
• Defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator instead of keeping them under water
• Only run dishwashers and washing machines when they are full

Look: The cost of renting or owning a home in New Jersey is absolutely overwhelming us

The opinions expressed in the above post are solely those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski.

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