Water New York City

New York Mayor Edward I. Koch declared a drought emergency and announced tough conservation measures, including a ban on watering lawns. The city also banned all ornamental uses of water, such as fountains, waterfalls and reflecting pools, even if they recirculate the water. "New York won't be as green as usual this year," Koch said. "Tough times require tough measures, and the drought emergency will be a very tough time."

Residents used to call it the "champagne of municipal water." The mineral-rich water that flowed unfiltered from reservoirs in Upstate New York won national taste tests and, at one point, even was bottled and sold across the United States. Today, New York City tap water is flowing into hard times. Development on land near the city's reservoirs has led to increasing amounts of pollution entering the water supply.

Residents used to call it the "champagne of municipal water." The mineral-rich water that flowed unfiltered from reservoirs in Upstate New York won national taste tests and, at one point, even was bottled and sold across the United States. Today, New York City tap water is flowing into hard times. Development on land near the city's reservoirs has led to increasing amounts of pollution entering the water supply.

New York Mayor Edward I. Koch declared a drought emergency and announced tough conservation measures, including a ban on watering lawns. The city also banned all ornamental uses of water, such as fountains, waterfalls and reflecting pools, even if they recirculate the water. "New York won't be as green as usual this year," Koch said. "Tough times require tough measures, and the drought emergency will be a very tough time."

A Staten Island bathing beach was closed Friday because of a high bacterial count in the water, but New York City officials said all other city beaches were expected to remain open for the weekend.

Brownie recipes at midnight? Lettuce at 3 a.m.? We're into 24-hour food here. The Television Food Network, available on selected Southern California cable systems, has snagged some well-known names to host some of its shows. Jane Curtin introduces "Cooking Classics," which features vintage cooking shows (including segments with TV food pioneers James Beard and Dione Lucas). Robin Leach gabs with celebrities.

What looks, tastes, and smells clean enough to drink, but isn't? Boston's water, according to federal standards, and the water of thousands of communities across the United States, including New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Scranton, Pa., and Portland, Me. For Bostonians familiar with the pristine woods surrounding the sparkling blue water of the reservoirs that supply the city, the news is hard to swallow.

Today is World Toilet Day. You might chuckle or blush, but it's worth taking a moment to acknowledge what the humble loo has done for us. Though the word "toilet" is often considered declasse and even rude to utter aloud, much of modern life would not be possible without the commode. Ask yourself this: If you had to live without toilets or electricity, which would you choose?

A rainy, snowy fall and early winter are quickly quenching the remnants of the two-year drought along the East Coast. The Christmas storm that blew across Pennsylvania, New York and New England was icing on the cake for soil moisture and groundwater watchers, said Randy Durlin of the U.S. Geological Survey in Harrisburg. Even before the storm, Durlin said Friday, "we've seen great recovery. It's been perfect, it's just been slow rain. The ground didn't freeze, so it soaked in."

Imaginary Girls A Novel Nova Ren Suma Dutton: 348 pp., $17.99ages 14 and older Sisterly bonds are complicated, none more so than those of teenagers whose parents are, in effect, absent. Having a barfly for a mother and fathers who fled the confines of domestic life, the half sisters at the center of the young-adult novel "Imaginary Girls" turn their relationship into a surrogate mother-daughter pairing that begins as idol worship and evolves into something even less healthy.

When the four buses arrived at Woodstock Elementary School on a recent morning, they were greeted by children holding signs decorated with rainbows, peace signs and yin-yang symbols. "Hola," called the children. "Todos los ninos sonrien en la misma lenguaje" declared a banner in the main lobby. "All children smile in the same language."

While San Diego City Hall was still swaying slightly in the aftermath of one of last week's minor earthquakes, Councilman Mike Gotch pointed out to his colleagues that the temblor--actually, a much stronger one--had been predicted more than 400 years ago. "The interpreters of Nostradamus told us that this would happen in June, 1985," Gotch said of the seismic activity.