By CRAIG FREILICH

NORWOOD -- The mayor of Norwood is crediting the response of residents for alleviating a near-crisis with the supply of village water.

“The board and the DPW appreciate the response after the request for water conservation went into effect,” Mayor Tim Levison said.

The weather helped, too, with a couple of rounds of rain since he and the DPW officially asked residents last week to cut back on water usage.

No official emergency was declared, but concern was raised when the pumps for the village’s wells were “running 23 hours a day” drawing water up from unusually low levels, Levison said last week.

The village distributed a flyer with hints on how to save water, such as by taking shorter showers, washing cars from a bucket of water rather than letting a hose run, and using a sink full of water to pre-rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.

It also had suggestions such as mulching shrubbery to retain moisture and watering lawns during the coolest part of the day.

“Some people are taking it seriously and are helping to avoid a more serious problem,” Levison said.

The situation seems to have returned to normal for the time being.

“It’s OK until we hit another dry spell,” Levison said. “We won’t be out of the woods if people don’t keep conserving,” he said. “It’s almost a day by day thing, but it’s not a major concern at the moment.”