U.S. Water News Online
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Oldham County water tanks were at their lowest point in years, and residents were notified of a water emergency, with fines to be imposed or service cut off for anyone who waters a lawn or washes a car.
The county has barely enough water to douse a major fire, said William Baker, assistant superintendent of the Oldham County Water District.
"If the tank gets low and there could be some fire, there'd be no fire protection," Baker said.
The county's pipelines cannot supply water fast enough. A water emergency was declared and the restrictions imposed Monday for the district's 8,000 customers.
The situation is more severe in Lexington and eastern Kentucky, the National Weather Service said.
And the Louisville Water Co. pumped a record 204 million gallons of water recently, 4 million more than the previous high for one day.
Louisville had only 1.48 inches of rain during June and is almost 2.4 inches below normal for the year -- with most of the shortage occurring in June.
Lexington and eastern Kentucky are drier than that.
"That's more like 5 inches below normal for the year," Lasher said. "Oldham would be heading toward that."
Vince Guenthner, manager of government affairs for Louisville metro government, which owns the water company, said the utility has all the water it needs and is not asking any customers to conserve.
But many water companies have asked for conservation. Others, like Madison County Utilities, have imposed mandatory limits. Residents of Richmond can use water outdoors only on Tuesdays and Thursdays through July 10.
North Shelby Water Co. has voluntary restrictions, but they apply every day.
"We would hope that if we get some response from this conservation effort, probably in a week or so we'd be able to lift it," company manager Darrell Dees said.
"We've had really good luck in the past with this effort," said Dees, whose company has recorded its driest June since 1982. "People have responded well."
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