NEW YORK – New York City released its first drought warning in 22 years after months of little rain – and will restart the flow of drinking water from a broken aqueduct as supplies run out.

Dry conditions in the northeast have been blamed for hundreds of bushfires. They had already pushed New York City and state officials to implement water conservation protocols when Mayor Eric Adams upgraded the drought alert and temporarily halted a water repair project. he $2 billion aqueduct that had blocked drinking water from flowing out of some Catskill-area reservoirs.

Last week, a park on the northern tip of Manhattan caught fire, sending smoke across the city — less than a week after a brush fire in Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

“New Yorkers should not underestimate dry weather and what it means,” Adams said at a news conference, noting the recent fires. “The fire risk is high and the fire risk is real.”

The city may elevate the warning to an emergency if dry conditions persist. A drought emergency involves requiring residents and municipal agencies to reduce their water use. Moving from monitoring to warning requires a series of conservation protocols, Adams said.

Water-saving measures planned for the coming weeks will include washing buses and subway cars less frequently and limiting water use for fountains and golf courses, the mayor said .

“Our city vehicles may look a little dirtier, and our subways may look a little dustier, but that’s what we need to do to delay or avoid a more serious drought emergency,” he said.

At this time Monday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul launched a statewide drought watch and elevated 15 counties to drought warning status, asking residents to Save water as much as possible.

Closing a section of the Delaware Aqueduct to address leaks had been in the works for years.

The aqueduct carries water 85 miles from four reservoirs in the Catskill area to other reservoirs in the city’s northern suburbs.

Part of the aqueduct was shut down in early October but will now be restored because water levels in the city’s reservoir system are too low to make up the difference, officials with the city’s Department of Water Protection said. ‘environment.

The latest drought warning in New York was issued in January 2002.