Elizabeth Water Restrictions 2026

New Jersey has been under a statewide NJDEP Drought Warning since December 5, 2025, the third of four tiers on the State's drought scale, which runs Normal, Watch, Warning, and Emergency. The Warning is voluntary: NJDEP is asking residents and businesses to limit lawn watering to two days per week and conserve water indoors, but only the Governor can escalate to a mandatory Drought Emergency. Under Governor Mikie Sherrill, with NJDEP Acting Commissioner Ed Potosnak, State Geologist Steven Domber has described the situation as a chronic water supply drought, the scale of which the State has not seen in more than twenty years. New Jersey recorded below-normal precipitation in 20 of the last 24 months, endured its driest 365-day period in two decades, and saw drought conditions expand again in May 2026.

Elizabeth sits in the NJDEP Northeast drought region, the most heavily populated part of the State, just south of Newark and beside the Port Newark-Elizabeth marine terminal. It is the seat-area anchor of Union County and one of New Jersey's largest cities, with a population of roughly 137,000 packed into a dense urban grid of row houses, apartments, and multi-family homes. Because so much of the city is paved or built out, outdoor lawn irrigation is a smaller share of demand here than in suburban towns, but the same Raritan basin water supply that serves Elizabeth is under stress, so every gallon saved still matters.

Elizabeth's water comes from the Raritan River system, which is buffered by the Round Valley Reservoir and the Spruce Run Reservoir in the Raritan basin. The Raritan basin is one of the key indicators NJDEP watches when setting statewide drought status, and reservoir storage in this system is a major reason the Warning was issued and remains in place. The city's water system is municipally owned but has long been run by private operators: the historic Elizabethtown Water Company served the area for over a century before being acquired by Thames Water in 1996 and then by Veolia in 2003. Today the City of Elizabeth's water system is operated under contract by Liberty Water Company, a division of American Water managed by New Jersey American Water, which handles treatment, distribution, billing, and the State-mandated lead service line replacement program.

For Elizabeth households, the practical message is to follow the voluntary NJDEP guidance: hold lawn watering to no more than two days per week, irrigate before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m., fix leaks quickly, and check dep.nj.gov/drought for the weekly drought update that determines whether the State stays in a Warning, eases back, or escalates to a mandatory Emergency.

This deficit has accumulated over the current water year and represents a significant departure from historical averages for the Elizabeth area. Water supply reservoirs and aquifer levels are below seasonal targets, prompting regional voluntary conservation guidance.