{"id":660,"date":"2022-07-26T08:15:50","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T12:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/?page_id=660"},"modified":"2025-05-09T11:49:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T15:49:01","slug":"nj-water-savers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/nj-water-savers\/","title":{"rendered":"NJ Water Savers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row_content_no_spaces&#8221;][vc_column][vc_single_image image=&#8221;684&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][vc_raw_html]JTNDZGl2JTIwY2xhc3MlM0QlMjJjYXJvdXNlbC1jYXB0aW9uJTIwZC1tZC1ibG9jayUyMGQtc20tYmxvY2slMjIlM0UlMEElMDklM0NoMSUzRU5KJTIwV2F0ZXIlMjBTYXZlcnMlMjAlM0MlMkZoMSUzRSUwQSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRQ==[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][breadcrumb-shortcode][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3>DEP\u00a0partnered with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension\u2019s Water Resources Program to develop the <a href=\"http:\/\/water.rutgers.edu\/Projects\/DWC\/NJWaterSavers_Default.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NJ Water Savers Program<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Five communities were chosen based on specific water supply issues:<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li><b>Rahway<\/b><br \/>\nThis urban community\u2019s water is supplied by the Rahway River.<\/li>\n<li><b>Belmar Borough<\/b><br \/>\nThis beach community is in a critical water supply area with seasonal population swells.<\/li>\n<li><b>Livingston <\/b><br \/>\nThis suburban community has high outdoor irrigation use and summer water use peaks.<\/li>\n<li><b>East Greenwich <\/b><br \/>\nThis rural farming community\u2019s\u00a0farmland is being converted to large-lot suburban developments.<\/li>\n<li><b>Egg Harbor Township<\/b><br \/>\nThis Pinelands regional growth area saw massive growth in a short period of time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h4>The program worked closely with the Environmental Commissions of these communities on water-saving recommendations such as:<\/h4>\n<h5><b>Indoor water-saving<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Retrofits to Public School Building bathrooms in all\u00a0five communities, with water-saving fixtures donated by American Standard.<\/li>\n<li>A WaterSense Certifiable Home was built through a partnership with Dobley Construction. The home adheres to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/watersense\/homes-specification\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EPA Home Specifications<\/a>, and features all WaterSense plumbing fixtures.<\/li>\n<li>Installing sub-meters at Section 8 Housing.<\/li>\n<li>Water Champions Program to engage Rahway High School students in water conservation by equipping them with knowledge, allowing students to perform water audits on their school, and ultimately using the data to propose a bathroom retrofit with fixtures donated by American Standard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h5><b>Outdoor water-saving<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Build-a-Rain-Barrel Workshops were held in all 5 communities to teach community members about the importance of water conservation, and how to construct their own barrel at home.<\/li>\n<li>The \u201cOne Barrel at a Time\u201d Co-op served as a rain barrel beautification campaign, with 35 artists around New Jersey designing and painting rain barrels, which were auctioned off. Funds raised were used to offset program costs, with the balance going to the artists.<\/li>\n<li>A Smart Irrigation Controller demonstration\/test site was installed at the Thompson Park soccer field in East Greenwich, as well as in the WaterSense Certifiable Home.<\/li>\n<li>An Irrigation System Upgrade demonstration project was completed at the Magical Garden Co-op in Belmar, resulting in a 53% increase in the site\u2019s water efficiency, (from 38% to 91%).<\/li>\n<li>The Healthy Lawns Program partnered with the Brickman Group to recreate two healthy, sustainable lawns, for use as demonstration and study sites. This involved a two-month process to kill invading weeds, install 55 yards of compost, prepare the soil, and hydro-seed.<\/li>\n<li>A Rainwater Harvesting system was installed at the Samuel Mickle School\u2019s \u201cWild Site\u201d in East Greenwich. The water from a huge, 500-gallon rain barrel is pumped through a water-efficient irrigation system to provide water for the students\u2019 native plant gardens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h5><b>Community programs<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cName Your Rebate for Water Savings at Home\u201d program to determine what incentives are necessary to encourage homeowners to update to water-conserving technologies. Incentives were given as funding allowed.<\/li>\n<li>Demonstration Native Plants, Rain Gardens &amp; Natural Retention Basins were installed in Livingston, East Greenwich, Egg Harbor Township, and Belmar.<\/li>\n<li>Water Conservation ideas were marketed to tourists at Belmar through a self-guided MP3 bike\/walking tour, a demonstration project at the beach, and educational materials available for rent<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vXD1I3Hd0w0&amp;feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Water Supply\/Conservation videos<\/a> were created in partnership with NJ American Water to discuss water supply issues in NJ, to showcase the WaterSense certifiable house, and to focus on both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hW-SYR-ujBI&amp;feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">indoor<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sYfRETi8hUM&amp;feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">outdoor<\/a> residential water conservation.<\/li>\n<li>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sustainablejersey.com\/actions\/#open\/action\/72\" target=\"_blank&quot;\" rel=\"noopener\">Model Water Conservation Ordinance<\/a> was created and made a \u201cPriority Item\u201d for municipalities seeking Sustainable Jersey certification.<\/li>\n<li>The Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) curriculum was taught in Rahway, East Greenwich, and Egg Harbor Township, with funding for a Water Festival awarded to teachers who finished the curriculum. Egg Harbor Township applied and received funding to hold their first student-run Water Festival.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h5>Questions or comments?<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/contact\/\">Contact us<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row_content_no_spaces&#8221;][vc_column][vc_single_image image=&#8221;684&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][vc_raw_html]JTNDZGl2JTIwY2xhc3MlM0QlMjJjYXJvdXNlbC1jYXB0aW9uJTIwZC1tZC1ibG9jayUyMGQtc20tYmxvY2slMjIlM0UlMEElMDklM0NoMSUzRU5KJTIwV2F0ZXIlMjBTYXZlcnMlMjAlM0MlMkZoMSUzRSUwQSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRQ==[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][breadcrumb-shortcode][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] DEP\u00a0partnered with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension\u2019s Water Resources Program to develop the NJ Water Savers Program Five communities were chosen based on specific water supply issues: Rahway This urban community\u2019s water is supplied by the Rahway River. Belmar Borough This beach community is in a critical water supply area with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"fullwidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-660","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1275,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/660\/revisions\/1275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/conserve-water\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}