Pikeville Mayor Philip CagleIn the face of the ongoing drought, at least two towns in the region are asking their water utility customers to conserve.
Pikeville, Tenn., and LaFayette, Ga., have mailed notices asking customers to cut back on water use, while officials hope some of the scattered rains coming through will replenish the water table.
For Pikeville residents, "don't water your lawns and gardens and don't wash your cars," said Betty Renick, administrative assistant at Pikeville City Hall in Bledsoe County.
Pikeville gets its water mostly from wells, though there is a connection to Dayton and Dunlap as backup, Mayor Phil Cagle said Friday.
"We've been fighting this water thing for several weeks," Cagle said.
City officials are reopening an old well and considering drilling a new one to make sure supplies are ample. The Tennessee Department of Correction has agreed to draw water temporarily for the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex from the old Taft water plant near the prison rather than from Pikeville, Cagle said.
"We should build up pretty good over the next three or four days," Cagle said. He said Pikeville has been drawing extra supplies overnight from Dunlap, but that means Dunlap's customers could suffer, he said.
Supplies should be better by early next week, he said.
LaFayette water customers were also asked to conserve.
"Although no emergency water plans are in effect at this point, it is a fact that our local water sources are dependent upon local rainfall and have been affected by the lack of rain," LaFayette City Manager David Hamilton said in a statement issued last Monday.
"With this in mind, we're asking our water consumers and citizens to begin conserving water in any way possible," he said. That means residential customers should limit lawn and garden watering to the evening hours when demand is lower.
The National Weather Service forecasts a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms today in Chattanooga. In Pikeville and LaFayette, the forecast calls for a slightly lesser chance of rain today. No long-term rainfall is predicted.
It has been worse.
Almost 10 years ago, Tennessee and adjacent states were hit with extreme drought that left towns across the region dry and searching for water. Orme, Tenn., in Marion County made national headlines after officials had to truck in water and residents only had water a couple of hours or so a day.
But a connection since then to Bridgeport, Ala., answered a history of water supply problems, according to resident and former Orme water plant operator John Newton.
"As long as the Tennessee River runs, we'll be all right," Newton said on Friday.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.