Total outdoor water ban in Haralson County

HARLSON COUNTY, Ga. - Extreme drought conditions have forced Haralson County officials to declare a state of emergency.  There is now a total outdoor water ban in the county, and authorities said they have to buy water from Alabama and from neighboring Polk and Carroll counties.

The Tallapoosa River is the main source of water for Haralson County's nearly 30,000 residents. A hot summer and no rain left the water level at its lowest level in close to 100 years.

“Very dangerous conditions, we've never seen levels this low in our lifetime, hadn't been this bad since 1925,” said Allen Poole the Executive Director of the Haralson County Water Authority.

Residents are being told not to water their lawns, car washes are closed and schools are making back-up plans.

“We've got porta-potties on standby and we have bottled water on standby,” said Poole.

Firefighters have also had to make some changes. They are relying on tankers instead of connecting to hydrants.

“We're having to go back to the days of years ago where we totally rely on tanker trucks to shuttle water, so we have to change our operation,” said Fire Chief Brian Walker.

Crews spent the weekend and Monday clearing trees, branches and beaver dams to increase the flow of water in the Tallapoosa. It is just enough to raise the water level about the intake pipes.

Residents are being told to conserve. Sara Cantrell has lived here 46 years. She said she is doing her part to cut back, and she is also relying on a higher power.

“I'm praying for rain, God will make it rain,” said Cantrell.