The Cities of Alcoa and of Maryville and Tuckaleechee Utility District alert their customers that lower than normal rainfall combined with continued high temperatures have resulted in significantly less than normal water flow in the Little River this fall. The utilities are monitoring river conditions and the weather closely to be able to react should river conditions deteriorate to critical levels. Long-term rainfall outlook is not favorable to provide immediate and long-term relief for restoring river levels.
Alcoa, Maryville and Tuckaleechee customers are asked to reduce their water use in order to reduce demand on the Little River. Voluntary conservation measures include actions such as watering lawns no more than twice a week and only from 8:00 pm to midnight, operating irrigation systems manually, watering only when grass and plants begin to show signs of distress, evaluating your irrigation system for water use efficiency, collecting rainwater at downspouts to water plants, not hose off driveways and sidewalks and minimizing water use for washing cars. The utilities are in the process of preparing to operate interconnections with other Utilities as well as operate an auxiliary raw water line that will provide additional water to the City of Alcoa Water Treatment Plant.
River flow and drought information is available on the U.S. Geological Water Watch website: http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/.
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