Reply #31: This is only about 50 miles due east of where I live. We are lucky to have a spring that flows a

[nealmhughes]

spring that flows all year around, called a "year round spring" here in the Tennessee Valley. The drought is so bad that a guy only a few miles away had to get his well connection disconnected and attach to the county water supply (which comes from the Tennessee River's tribs, so danger of any loss here, as they are on relatively "deep water").

We are worried about our well, too. This summer the creek was so low that we didn't dare to use the well to water flowers or gardens or to wash cars, we drew water from the creek. The rain has been incredibly lacking here in the SE. Several cars that had been covered over by TVA back water back in 33 or so were found high and dry recently!

Last year there were 5 or 6 crops of hay and farmers sold their surplus west. This year they are selling their cattle west as the lucky farmers made 2 crops. The cotton is not worth picking -- barely knee high at best and not even "fair to middling," but poor grade -- but I did see the 'backy looked OK last month in Kentucky.

Normally we count on draining water away here, not trying to get it. When I lived in Nebraska a few years ago I went with a friend to his fiancee's hometown for a centennial celebration. One old farmer asked me about my accent and then "What type of irrigation do you use down there?" I just laughed and said, "Reverse. We dig ditches to drain it away from the fields!"

This isn't a "small government" problem, by any means. This is a small town who had had a major water source that suddenly went to a trickle. The neighboring state's municiple water authority is allowing them to fill the tank up which gives them the 3 hours worth a day.

When our local water autority had its sole working pump crap out last year the fire dept. came to our creek and filled up their pumpers and then transferred it to the water tank. Later a neighboring town's spring was used to do it over and over again until the pump could be repaired. They had no money to replace it until the state legislature passed an appropriation for it (no home rule in Alabama, except for a small bit in Jefferson County/Bham and Mobile). So Tenn filled in for Ala last year and now AL does for Tenn.