Water Shortage Watch in Effect
By Leigh Ann Tipton, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Jun. 16–The Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet issued a water shortage watch on Friday for 61 Kentucky counties, including Ohio and Muhlenberg in western Kentucky.
Although both counties currently have an adequate water supply, officials at the Kentucky Division of Water say they and the other affected Kentucky counties could have problems meeting high demands if drought conditions persist.
“Pulaski and other counties are beginning to have issues,” said Bill Caldwell with the Division of Water. “They can’t pump enough through the lines to meet demand.”
Like electrical grids have experienced in summers past, water plants can experience overloads to the system as they try to meet the demands of water customers in the hot, dry conditions.
Caldwell said the watch is designed to alert water suppliers and the public to potential water supply issues if the drought persists.
Stuart Foster, state climatologist, said precipitation deficits for the past four months have made it one of the driest periods on record since 1895. Caldwell said the watch has been issued for counties considered to be in a severe drought. Severe conditions have developed south of a line stretching from Calloway County in the west to Jessamine County in central Kentucky and continuing southeast to Letcher County. The Climate Prediction Center indicates that extreme and exceptional drought south of Kentucky will persist, and that drought will continue to build here in Kentucky. The next best chance for rainfall in this area will be Tuesday.
Caldwell said Muhlenberg and Ohio counties are included on the watch list because their water source is the Green River, which is at historically low levels.
“I want to make sure people don’t panic,” Caldwell said. “Right now none of our water sources are being threatened. But the potential for those sources to be threatened is greater now than it was a month ago. It’s unusual for us to be under conditions this severe this early.”
Wesley Morgan, chief operator of the Central City Water Plant, said so far the facility has been able to meet demand.
“It’s just a watch, not an advisory,” Morgan said. “The water flow on the Green River is down a little bit, but we’re still getting plenty of water and the water quality is good.”
Morgan and Caldwell both said the watch is encouraging, but not mandating, water conservation. They are asking citizens not to water lawns, especially those that are unlikely to recover from this spring’s dry spell. Caldwell said citizens should also cut back on washing their cars, and especially watch their outdoor water usage on the weekends.
Caldwell said that by issuing a watch, the Division of Water wanted to make citizens aware of the possibility that their local water suppliers could issue requests, or even mandates requiring conservation.
“We’re encouraging citizens to pay attention, be in tune with what’s going on in their community,” he said. “And to also be willing and not be surprised if your water supplier asks you to conserve outdoor water use.”
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Copyright (c) 2007, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
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