High and Dry

As Weiss Lake reaches historic low, Cherokee County, Ala., touts water conservation

Water Usage in Cherokee County
Cedar Bluff Utility Board
April: 2.35 million gallons
September: 5.79 million gallons
Cherokee County Water & Sewer Board
April: 21.46 million gallons
September: 31.99 million gallons
Centre Waterworks
April: 1.59 million gallons
August: 2.2 million gallons
September: 1.7 million gallons

In Cherokee County, Ala., where 30,000 acres is typically underwater and hundreds of miles of creeks and rivers flow, the water systems that serve the county last week appealed for residents to conserve water as Weiss Lake reaches historic lows and other water sources shrink.

The Northeast Alabama Water, Sewer and Fire Protection District, which serves 5,100 customers in Cherokee County, asked for voluntary water conservation.

"We're faced with limited supplies," said Johnny Jordan, manager of the utility.

Most Northeast Alabama customers in Cherokee County get their water from the Waterloo Spring in Gaylesville.

"Waterloo is OK, but we're doing OT to keep up with demand," Jordan said.

Northeast also has a water treatment plant on the Tennessee River in Marshall County and the Manning Quarry in Fort Payne, which give it more options when water runs low.

The Cedar Bluff Utility Board buys its water from Northeast Alabama Water to serve 1,374 customers. In April, those customers used 2.35 million gallons of water and in September, they used 5.79 million.

The Cherokee County Water & Sewer Board supplies water to about 3,500 customers in the county, who used 21.46 million gallons in April and 31.99 million gallons in September.

The Cherokee utility draws its water from Sanford Springs in Spring Garden and Bristow Springs in Leesburg, said Sid Garrett, manager of the water and sewer operation.

About 90 percent of the water comes from Sanford Springs. Previously, the utility checked water flow at the springs twice a month. As the drought worsened, workers started checking it once a week, then twice a week. Now it's every day, a practice that started in July.

Sanford Springs usually puts out about 5 million gallons a day, but "now we're lucky to get half," Garrett said.

Garrett appealed to residents to conserve water by eliminating lawn watering and car washes.

The next step would be surcharges for use over a specified limit, "but we don't want to go there," he said.

Centre Waterworks, which serves Centre residents and some Northeast customers in the eastern part of the county, will face an emergency situation if Weiss Lake drops to 553 feet above sea level. It is now at 557.34 and Alabama Power Co., said it cannot predict how low the lake will go.

Centre Waterworks started an Emergency Water Conservation Plan more than a month ago, prohibiting washing sidewalks, walkways, driveways or parking areas.

It also prohibits filling or maintaining levels in swimming pools or decorative fountains unless such water is part of a recycled system.

Other restrictions include no washing of vehicle and restaurants were ordered to stop automatically serving water to customers who don't ask for it.

According to Roy Alford, manager of Centre Waterworks, customers have complied with the restrictions and it has paid off.

"I would like to thank our customers for working with us," said Alford.

In April, Centre Waterworks customers used 1.59 million gallons of water and in August, those numbers jumped to 2.2 million gallons of water. In September, however, because of conservation efforts, the numbers were down to 1.7 million gallons.

September and October are typically dry months, which puts utilities at a greater disadvantage.

From the Cherokee County Herald