'Half of our water is gone'

Normandy Reservoir is now at only half of its capacity and area officials are looking at drawing up an emergency plan to cope with the dwindling supply.

While several rare rain events have graced the area over the past few weeks, the much welcomed perception has only slowed the gradual reduction of water in Normandy Reservoir.

As of 10 a.m., Tuesday, the lake was at a level of 853.09 feet. At 850 feet, Stage 2 of the local drought plan would go into effect, which includes mandatory water restrictions.

According to Executive Director Doug Murphy of the Duck River Agency, the 853 foot mark "is the magic mark" which is a record low for Normandy and also means the lake has reached the 50 percent capacity of water.

"That's kind of a scary thing ... it means half of our water is gone," Murphy said.

The Duck River Agency is also in the process of drawing up emergency drought action plans for the Duck River region, a concept that is so new, "we're not even sure what those plans will include."

"We really don't have an emergency plan for drought management for the Duck River region and that's something we're looking at and there will be a lot of work developing that plan," which Murphy hopes to begin looking at in the next few months

Murphy also said they are consulting with the state about changing the operation guidelines for Normandy Reservoir to include times when the area experiences extended periods of drought. Drawing up the guidelines is "a long drawn out process" and Murphy hopes they will be in place by late spring or early summer of 2008.

Barring any more rain, the area is six to 10 weeks away from mandatory restrictions, Murphy said. "We're hoping that in the next three months, we get some good wet weather."

Murphy said the area has not had enough rain to make any difference in the water level at Normandy, especially with runoff.

But there has been enough rain downstream of the reservoir to give the Duck River "a little relief" from tributaries and as a result, the flow from the dam has been reduced, conserving more water.

While Murphy said he had not seen any recent water usage figures, he stated that he's sure the area got a "little bit of relief" from voluntary conservation efforts, but it likely was not "significant enough to make a measurable difference."

He added that the voluntary restrictions were more about educating the public and making them aware of the situation and that "you don't expect to save that much when you're in a voluntary state."

General manager Marty Davis of the Bedford County Utility District said that this was the time of year where water usage goes down and he could not tell if there had been a great deal of difference due to the voluntary restrictions.

"Maybe slightly, but not a whole lot," Davis said. "What we were hoping for was a five to 10 percent drop and I don't know if we've done that."

Comparing statistics from October of last year to 2007, BCUD has pumped more water out this year, but has sold less than in 2006. Davis said the difference may be attributed to several major leaks in the system that were discovered in October.

Davis said they "were so hopeful" when looking at weather forecasts last week that called for heavy rain and possible flash flooding.

"I don't want to see flash flooding, but we really need to put some water in that lake," Davis said. Bedford County only ended up getting only a half an inch of rain from that weather system.

Davis' biggest concern is when the utility reaches the next level of restrictions when the lake reaches 850 feet. He added that he does not know what the region will do if we get no rain over the winter months and stated that area utilities may have to take "drastic steps" next summer to conserve water.

"You hate wet, sloppy weather in the winter time," he said, "but we sure do need water in that lake."