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City's water advisory is still in effect

Pool No. 8 levels dropping average of .72 inches a day

September 05, 2007|Mike Moore

This year's drought has taken a toll on many across central Kentucky, and Nicholasville is no exception.

On Tuesday, the Kentucky River Authority opened the valves at Dam 13, near Beattyville, and Dam 12, near Irvine, in an attempt to increase flow to other areas of the region.

Nicholasville Utility Director Tom Calkins said Pool No. 8, where the city draws its water from, has suffered greatly in recent weeks.

In an e-mail to area leaders, Calkins said, "Pool 8 is dropping like a rock, but fortunately the KRA is opening the valves in Dam 13 and Dam 12 this afternoon (Tuesday) to attempt to increase the flow (approximately 40 cubic feet per second) into Pool 9 so that water will over top the dam and raise our levels in Pool 8."

In the last several days, Pool 8's levels have dropped an average of .72 inches a day.

He wasn't quite ready to say the city's water supply was at the mandatory conservation level, saying rather the city is now taking a wait and see approach to see how opening of the valves will help.

"That will depend on whatever affect there is on pool elevations, and flows through the pool as result of the valves opening on 12 and 13," he said. "We're going to wait and see what the affect is."

But he knows that without significant rainfall soon, Nicholasville will join the many other central Kentucky areas that are in dire straits.

"If this trend continues, it will only be a matter of days before we are no longer able to use our highest intake," he wrote in the e-mail.

In late August, the city of Nicholasville issued a voluntary water conservation advisory.

The advisory recommends that customers - residential, commercial and industrial - reduce discretionary water use, such as lawn sprinkling and pool filling.

The advisory asked that customers use the water between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, the news isn't bleak for the city of Wilmore.

Utilities Director Dave Carlstedt said while water usage is up due to the return of students at Asbury College and Asbury Seminary, the city's water supply is in fine shape.

"Our water condition is about the same," he said. "We're at about 40 percent capacity. We're still in good shape in Wilmore."

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