Local officials in Casey County and the town of Liberty are requiring residents to conserve water in response to an extreme drought. They say the south-central Kentucky town has a few months of water left in its dwindling supply.
The area is currently under extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“Everything else is affected because our crops are in need of water, and we have a lot of large cattle population we grow here, so that's another industry in itself,” said Liberty Operations Manager Allen Sparr.
Sparr says the shortage stems from multiple problems, including aging water infrastructure.
“We just try to keep that leak number down as much as we possibly can, but without the rain, it’s going to be very difficult,” he said.
In the meantime, local officials are discussing ways to fix the problem with the state and the Lake Cumberland Area Development District, which encompasses a handful of counties in southern Kentucky. One idea would involve pumping water from the nearby Green River into Lake Liberty, the town’s main source of water.
“We’re looking at a six-to-eight inch pipeline, and hopefully not diesel power,” Sparr said. “We’re going to get electricity in there as well to pump water from the Green River into the lake itself, so if we can pump enough of it, we’ll be in great shape.”
Gov. Andy Beshear said during his regular media briefing last week the Energy and Environment Cabinet is helping with a short-term fix. He also indicated he’d want longer-term discussions on how to mitigate future shortages.
“There's not a magical way to hook them up and everything be fine immediately, but let me say taking steps a month or two out, which this mayor is doing, is really smart,” Beshear said.
Sparr is hopeful weather from this year’s El Niño will help end the drought. Typically, the southern United States gets wetter and stormier during the weather pattern, though drier and hotter weather is expected closer to the Ohio Valley.
