Water concerns
While farmers are trying to cope with these problems, city and county planners are also adapting to a potential raw water shortage. Drinking water in Marion comes from Lake George. The reservoir is at a low level, but not critically low, according to City Administrator Mark Bryant. He said Wednesday morning that the city will begin purchasing water from Crittenden-Livingston Water District to address some quality concerns related to drought effects on Lake George water. (See story on Page 5A.)
“We’ll be buying the next day or two to catch our breath,” Bryant said.
The city also reserves the possibility of drawing from Old City Lake.
The rural water district gets its raw water from the Cumberland River. This week, the county water district has been operating at full capacity, making 2 million gallons of potable water a day to keep its four towers filled.
Four major water line breaks over the past few days have created additional problems. Superintendent Donnie Beavers said the district had been operating at about 85 percent of capacity due to drought conditions, but broken lines and lost water has made it even tougher to meet demand.
With repairs to the water lines made, Beavers told the City of Marion his utility should be able to help with the city’s 400,000-gallon-per-day consumption of potable water.
Bryant asks city residents to continue a voluntary water reduction.

Fire hazards
Local firefighters remain on full alert due to the extremely volatile conditions. There were four field fires last week in the southern part of the county, including the one that consumed Mott’s hay. Another brush fire on Axle Creek Road Friday afternoon sent a volunteer fireman to the hospital.
Fireman Jerry Marshall was working to extinguish the blaze near the Crittenden-Livingston line when he suffered from heat exhaustion and had to be taken by ambulance to Crittenden Hospital. He was treated and released.
Judge-Executive Fred Brown said everyone should be aware of the “no burn” order that remains in effect until the county gets two inches of rain in a 24-hour period.
“We’re under a red flag warning,” Brown said, pointing out that conditions are extremely hazardous. “Outdoor burning is absolutely prohibited.”
The fire that ignited Mott’s hay late last week is a rare occurance. Organic matter such as hay can catch fire on its own due to rapid oxidation. Mott said it generally happens when hay is put up without being properly cured. However, he said that was not the case with his hay, which was rolled in May.
Mott saw smoke blowing across the field behind his house around 6:30 p.m., Friday. Firefighters were on the scene within 30 minutes, dousing upwards of 25,000 gallons of water on the hay to no avail. Eventually neighbors Shelby Belt and James Penn dug a pit with their farm equipment and buried the burning bales to extinguish them. Friends, neighbors and firemen were on the scene until 2:30 a.m., Saturday.