Crews in the Casey County city of Liberty have finished a project meant to help mitigate its dwindling water supply, having constructed a pipeline that transfers water from the Green River into Lake Liberty, the city’s main source of water.
Residents have been grappling with a drought compounded by aging water infrastructure in the area. Last month, Liberty enacted a local state of emergency and restrictions on outdoor water use. The emergency has also taken a toll on the economy, which largely relies on crop and cattle farming.
In June, the U.S. Drought Monitor classified Casey County as being under an “extreme drought,” which causes water shortages and increases the cost of food and water. The monitor has since downgraded the status to “severe” after the county finally received rain this month.
“The rain never showed around,” Liberty operations manager Allen Sparr said. “It would go north of us or south of us…and I'm not sure exactly what happened, but it's a big red dot right on top of Casey County.”
According to a Facebook post Friday, water levels at Lake Liberty were down more than 16 feet from normal. The city has since begun pumping water into the lake.
“Yesterday, for example, I think we put in about 350,000 gallons of water from the river to (the lake),” Sparr said Tuesday.
City officials are asking residents who get their water from Lake Liberty to boil their drinking water for “at least one week” as the new source is introduced into the lake, in order to ensure it remains clean and safe to use.
“It's sampled at the river, at the source itself, a couple of times a day, and then at the lake as it's starting to mix in as it comes down to feed the water plant,” Sparr said. “We want to make sure that the chemistry is right in all the water before we let it leave the plant.”
In the meantime, residents should continue conserving water.
“If you're taking a bath nine times a day, try not to do that,” Sparr said. "Showers are much, much better. If you have a load of laundry, make sure that the washing machine's loaded as much as it will carry.”
Gov. Andy Beshear also indicated last month he wants the state to work with Liberty officials on longer-term solutions for the water shortage.
