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Water watch: City measures its options

November 21, 2007|GEORGE LEWIS

Will Stanford, in the grip of an unprecedented drought, become like tiny Orme, Tenn., and run out of drinking water?

Without intervention, that could happen in about 14 weeks, the city's water manager said.

"It's possible," said Alan DeShon, manager of water and sewer.

Stanford Mayor Bill Miracle said on Monday he felt the city was "holding its own" but did express some urgency in exploring alternative methods to bring water to the city's customers.

"We're keeping a close eye on this," Mr. Miracle said. "We're going to make every attempt possible to keep from running out of water."

The mayor's alternative measures include tapping into Crab Orchard's water supply, which Mr. Miracle called a slight possibility, or piping water from Buffalo Springs. The city turned to Buffalo Springs to complement a dwindling water supply in 1988 during the last drought of great significance.

Just one method won't do, Mr. DeShon said. "There's no magic bullet," he said.

"We may need to take a look at requiring that each individual customer must cut their water usage by a certain percentage or face fines and penalties," Mr. Miracle said.

That method of forced conservation occurred in 1988, according to reports that appeared during that time in The Interior Journal.

Stanford remains under a mandatory outdoor watering ban, including the forced closure of the town's three commercial car washes, a move that city council members made reluctantly.

Despite the restrictions, prisoners from the Lincoln County Regional Jail are regularly used to hose down the steps of the courthouse and the sidewalks that surround it. County Judge Executive Buckwheat Gilbert says the courthouse and its environs are ground zero for pigeon poop, which he said are a health hazard and must be frequently washed away.

Some observers cry foul, however, and claim courthouse administrators are flaunting regulations.

Seeing the courthouse steps being washed by prisoners Sunday morning prompted one person to write anonymously to the newspaper: "Let the judge and the jailer stand on the courthouse steps and pray for rain like they did in Atlanta," one person wrote anonymously to The Interior Journal. "I think God would laugh in the face of Lincoln County if they did that, because it would be a purely hypocritical act. I'd hate to think of the punishment God would give if our county leaders tried that."

Messrs. Miracle and DeShon said the issue "will be addressed" with courthouse officials.

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