Village officials: “Don't be afraid to water your lawns!”

“Don't be afraid to water your lawns!” is the message from village leaders to village residents and water district customers this week.
“I'd like people to water their lawns!” Trustee Ron LaScala, who oversees the water and sewer department, announced at Wednesday's monthly village board meeting.
“We want to put our new wells to the test...so go ahead and water!” he asserted.
Water and Sewer Superintendent Mark Robillard, in his report to the board, said he'd like “to push the new wells to the limit” to get an exact idea of their performance and recovery times.
He warned homeowners, however, to use some discretion and not let their hoses run continuously. “I don't want folks to be foolish” with their water use.
Mr. Robillard said these hot, dry summer days are optimal to test the new system, which came on line in recent weeks.
In past summers, when all village water was drawn from Tupper Lake and Little Simond, residents were asked to water their lawns only  on alternative days, as those sources required expensive chemicals to treat their water.
“Normally at this time of year we'd be doing a lot of backwashing at those two plants- and running into a lot of overtime” wages because we had employees working weekends and evenings.
With the plentiful supply of water coming out of those new wells beyond Pitchfork Pond, and the fact that the new water source requires a relatively little amount of treatment, his department will see a lot less over-time, it was noted.
Mr. Robillard said since the new village well water system came on line in the past two weeks, customers have been enjoying “cold, clear water” from their taps.
Any cloudiness that was noticed in the days following the start-up should now be gone, and if it persists, he said his office would like to know about it.
“How's the water pressure in the Junction neighborhoods?” Mayor Paul Maroun asked the room that evening.
“I noticed a little drop, but it's still great,” said Cedar Street resident Pete Edwards, code enforcement officer.
“Mine's fine!” noted planning board member Jan Yaworski, who has done extensive renovations to her Oak Street house where she hopes to eventually devote one bedroom to a bed and breakfast operation.
To enjoy the full benefit of the new clean and minimally treated well water flowing into town down the new mains on Kildare Road, Mr. Robillard suggested residents clean the screens on their faucets.
Mr. LaScala said right now all the village's water is coming from the new wells, and not from Little Simond or Tupper Lake, the latter of which will soon be mothballed by the village.
The wells are both holding about 54 feet in height of water and are replenishing almost immediately, the trustee told his colleagues and the public that evening.
“The wells are both holding very level,” in terms of their water content, Mr. Robillard agreed.
As of publishing time, the water experiment has ended.