Water Resources
Water Resources Strategies
Westchester County shorelines touch the Hudson River and Long Island Sound, making the county vulnerable to the predicted rises in sea level associated with global warming and climate change. Both bodies of water are important recreational and economic resources and play critical roles in the ecosystems of the region.
Use our interactive scorecard and refer to the county's action plan to evaluate your progress to date in this area and get linked to specific tools and resources to help you implement the recommended actions below.
| Determine your water usage baseline | |||
| Establish a water usage baseline from 12 months worth of your water bills. Look for spikes in usage. Determine milestone goals with the overarching goal of reducing at least 10% of your water usage. | |||
| Implement storm-water management best practices | |||
| Divert debris from entering storm drains and include storm drain cleaning as part your facility maintenance procedures. Label all storm drains with “No Dumping”. | |||
| Use reclaimed water | |||
| Use reclaimed rainwater or graywater for irrigation. | |||
| Use faucet reminder signs | |||
| Install signs near faucets to remind users to turn water off fully and report any leaks. | |||
| Leak repair program | |||
| Implement a system to detect leaking toilets, faucets and showerheads and repair immediately. | |||
| Start a water conservation campaign | |||
| Create an internal campaign to save water. Include process operations. | |||
| Install low-flow devices on toilets | |||
| Install water-conserving devices on your toilets, low-flow toilets or waterless urinals. | |||
| Install faucet aerators | |||
| Install faucet aerators with a target flow rate of 1.0 gpm. | |||
| Run dishwashers and washing machines full | |||
| Encourage employees to run full loads, which reduce water and energy use. | |||
| Maintain grease traps | |||
| Properly maintain kitchen grease traps to prevent overflows and emissions to the sewer and storm drain systems. | |||
| Purchase water-conserving appliances | |||
| Adopt a policy that supports the purchase of water conserving appliances. | |||
| Implement sea level adaptation strategies | |||
| Consider long term changes to global sea levels when making decisions for capital improvements and infrastructure investments. | |||