Florham Park Police Now Has Responsibility of Enforcing Water Ban According to Police Chief

FLORHAM PARK, NJ - Chief of Police Joseph Orlando has issued an update regarding the current water ban in place for Florham Park.  Effective immediately, the police will take over enforcing the ban.  See his message below:

Residents,

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I am writing to you this evening due to several complaints the Borough and the Police Department have received regarding violations of the outdoor watering ban, which went into effect on August 15th and extends through September 15th.

The verbiage of the initial posting, from the Borough, regarding the outdoor water ban can be seen below:

“At the Council Meeting on August 15, 2024, the Borough Council enacted an Emergency Outdoor Water Ban effective immediately through Resolution #24-164. The Ban will run from August 15, 2024 through September 15, 2024, and impacts all residents who use water supplied by the Florham Park Water Utility. Residents served by SMCMUA or NJ American are not included in the ban.

The Ban extends to all outdoor water use, including but not limited to, the filling of pools, watering of lawns and plants, and the washing of cars. Sprinkler systems must be shut off until September 15, 2024.

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The Outdoor Water Use Ban will be enforced by the Zoning Enforcement Officer and/or the Florham Park Police Department. Warnings will be issued until August 25, 2024. On August 26, 2024, all enforcement officials will issue fines for each day in which a violation occurs. The fine for the first violation shall be for $250. The second violation shall result in a fine of $500. Each subsequent violation shall increase by $250 until a maximum per violation fine of $2000 is reached.

The Borough appreciates the immediate and complete cooperation of all residents in preservation of our resources.”

Due to continued violations of this ban and the complaints received by both the Borough and the Police Department, the responsibility for enforcing this ban has been placed upon the Police Department. I understand the initial notification indicated no warnings will be issued after August 25th, however, now that the Police Department has been tasked with enforcing this ban there will be a system put in place to track violations and issue summonses when and if necessary. Beginning at the time of this posting our officers will issue warnings for violations of the watering ban by placing a warning notification in the mailbox of residents or by making contact with a business that is in violation. The warning will be documented in our Computer Aided Dispatch system, which enables a search function to determine if a violation is an initial violation or a subsequent violation. If there are subsequent violations at the same residential address or business, a summons will be issued.

There are exemptions to the watering ban that have been provided to residents for various reasons. The Police Department does not decide upon exemption requests and does not authorize exemptions, those decisions are made by the Borough. Furthermore, several areas within the Borough do not receive their water from the Borough of Florham Park and are also exempt from the ban. Park Avenue, Passaic Avenue and the two golf courses do not receive their water from the Borough of Florham Park and therefore are exempt from the ban.

If your water is received from the Borough of Florham Park the ban applies to your residence or business.

I am asking residents and businesses to please assist our agency, by adhering to this ban, and prevent our officers from having to take enforcement action in this matter.

Thank you,

Joseph Orlando

Chief of Police

August 28, 2024

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