Since the start of 2025, wildfires have spread at an alarming rate across the United States, with over 8,000 wildfires and over 160,000 acres burned. Fires have devastated cities ranging from Los Angeles to Chicago, and are now blazing in New York. Mid-March marks the start of peak fire season in New York, and this past weekend, strong winds in combination with conditions caused by drought led to around 600 acres in Long Island being affected by four fast-moving brush fires.
In New York City, we typically don’t think about droughts. Yet, this fall has left us disappointingly dry and in desperate need of more water. As a result, this drought has fueled an alarming rise in wildfires, with blazes breaking out in green spaces from Brooklyn to upper Manhattan to New Jersey, and has engendered a panicked response from the city.
This year, Central Park only received a little over 1.5 inches of rain in September and October — the driest fall on record. Because of this tremendous lack of precipitation, city officials reopened four aqueducts flowing from the Catskill and Delaware watersheds, which provide tap water for nearly nine million residents. Recognizing the severity of the situation, several city agencies, including the MTA and the city’s fire, sanitation and police Departments, have cut back on how often they wash department vehicles, even at the expense of dirtier subway stations and other city-owned vehicles. While not favorable for commuters, these reductions are necessary to prevent a serious drought. The New York City Housing Authority has also stepped up efforts by identifying and fixing leaks in aging buildings, replacing outdated plumbing fixtures with water-efficient models and reducing excessive lawn watering across its properties.
Despite how responsible these measures seem, they pale in comparison to the level of wastefulness on display by the city’s response. The city has chosen to pause the $2 billion project to repair a leak beneath the Delaware Aqueduct — which supplies roughly half of New York City’s water — to temporarily access four additional aqueducts previously cut off due to the project. While this buys time, it does so at the cost of worsening a long-term water crisis. The aqueducts reopened by the city have to flow through the unfinished Delaware Aqueduct, leaking 35 million gallons of drinking water every single day it’s in operation. The Department of Environmental Protection has signalled their intent to restart the project this year.
As environmental problems like these become increasingly prevalent, city officials need to take advantage of new solutions and technology to deal with the issue, rather than ignoring issues that result in water waste. While other cities like Los Angeles have managed to increase the number of water-permeable surfaces to absorb more rainwater, New York’s urban environment could complicate the implementation of similar solutions.
Instead, advanced tracking tools utilizing artificial intelligence could be the future of drought management in the city. New York City has previously used digital tools before for natural disaster response, such as FloodNet, to manage floods by having a series of sensors around the city to measure flood data and monitor coastal water levels. New York City should invest in developing technology that uses the same water level sensors to predict drought, informing water management and conservation prior to drought conditions. Taking advantage of computational advancements and predictive AI technology to better forecast drought levels in the future would go a long way towards managing droughts in the future.
Water scarcity is becoming a reality. It’s not just the city that needs to take action — we have a part to play. New York City Mayor Adams has urged New Yorkers to voluntarily cut down on their water use, but many don’t realize how small changes can add up.
The average person in the United States uses 82 gallons of water per day, which is more than double the amount used in some European countries. There are many ways for us to lower our water supply such as shortening showers, fixing leaks and turning off taps while brushing teeth. Additionally, outdoor water use should be prioritized in the morning to reduce evaporation by up to 40%. These may seem insignificant but when multiplied across millions of residents, every single one of these habits add up.
If we want to avoid more of the potentially devastating effects of droughts in the future, we will all have to be more cognizant of how wasteful we are with the resources we have. Addressing drought risks requires both immediate action and long-term planning. The choices we make will determine if we will still be able to have access to clean and abundant water, and how freely we get to use it.
WSN’s Opinion section strives to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented in the Opinion section are solely the views of the writer.
Contact Steven Wang at [email protected].
