Several Counties Facing Water Shortage

Monday, December 18th 2006, 11:46 am

By: News On 6

Several Oklahoma counties could certainly use some rainfall. Pawnee, Noble, Payne, and Lincoln Counties are still dealing with a severe drought. News on 6 reporter Chris Wright has an update on how officials hope to keep the water supply from running dry.

Representatives from rural water districts in those four counties met Monday afternoon to discuss the situation. They say they have a temporary solution to the water shortage, but if they do not come up with a long-term one, thousands of people could run out of water.

Lone Chimney Lake, which provides water for 16,000 people in Pawnee, Payne, Noble and Lincoln counties, is now 10 feet below its normal level. The water level continues to drop by nearly an inch every day, meaning the water will run out by February.

"You can't always count on the rain. We've always had plenty of rain and plenty of water, but now we realize, it's a wake-up call,â€ said Darrel Clark with the Lone Chimney Water Association.

Rural water district representatives were briefed on the drought situation. The Lone Chimney Water Association says it has secured enough funding to buy a floating intake barge. The barge will be placed in the lake next month, and pump additional water from the depths of Lone Chimney.

Officials say it should give them an extra five or six months of water.

"That gives us some time to work on a solution and hopefully get some rain in the meantime," Bob Warrell, Emergency Management Coordinator said.

For now, the Lone Chimney Water Association has resorted to rationing water and tripling it rates to discourage usage. But after dealing with two years of drought, Lone Chimney Lake needs a deluge to get back to normal. Things have gotten so bad in Pawnee County that the recent record snowfall didn't even help the situation much as the water level continues to drop.

"It takes a lot of snow to make an inch of water, and there's no run-off because the ground is soaking it up before we get to it," Clark said.

Officials estimate it will take at least a year and a half of normal rainfall to end the drought, and hope Mother Nature will decide to cooperate.

As for a long-term solution, the Lone Chimney Water Association hopes to build a water line that would transport water from Kaw Reservoir in Stillwater to Lone Chimney Lake.

Officials say a long-term solution is crucial because the four counties are predominantly rural. That means if they were to run out of water, there is simply no way to transport water to everyone in the area.