N.J. residents urged to conserve water

State officials are urging New Jersey residents to conserve water.

Since the beginning of the year, the Garden State has received less than half the normal amount of rainfall.

Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Hajna says that’s taking a toll.

“The streams and shallow groundwater supplies are feeling the stress,” he said. “They’re extremely to severely dry, and this is a concern because obviously the streams and groundwater feed our reservoirs.”

While the reservoirs are in good shape now, Hajna says water use usually increases in the warm weather months. So he’s encouraging residents to voluntarily reduce lawn and landscape watering to help prevent the need for mandatory restrictions later on.