Work to repair a leak to the Delaware Aqueduct, which supplies water to half of New York City and several Hudson Valley communities, was paused due to drought.

New York City issued its first drought warning in 22 years and paused major repairs to its main water aqueduct out of concern for the lack of rainfall.

New York Mayor Eric Adams on Monday issued the first drought warning since 2002 amid historically low rainfall and blazing brush fires.

Mayor Eric Adams on Monday elevated New York City’s drought watch to a drought warning, the last step before declaring a drought emergency, which would come with mandatory water restrictions. The warning extends beyond the city to include 10 additional New York State counties,

A drought warning was issued in New York City on Monday, the first in more than two decades, Mayor Eric Adams announced. City leaders said residents will start seeing signs of water conservation soon,

They had already prompted New York City and state officials to implement water-conservation protocols when Mayor Eric Adams upgraded the drought warning and temporarily halted a $2 billion aqueduct repair project that had stopped drinking water from flowing from some reservoirs in the Catskill region.

New York City and 10 nearby counties are under a drought warning, a development that could slow the activities of businesses that rely on water to generate revenue. This includes agriculture in the area and utilities that rely on hydroelectric power.