Despite the excessive rainfall Auburn has experienced the past two weeks, it is still one of the only cities in Alabama to be in an extreme drought condition.
Western Lee County, as well as Chambers and Tallapoosa counties, has been experiencing "extreme" drought conditions since September 2010, according to Auburn Water Works Board.
The rainfall in 2010 was approximately 38 inches, which is 18.5 inches below normal.
Charlie Duggan, Auburn city manager, stressed the importance of receiving sufficient rainfall during the winter months.
"A drought in the summertime here isn't so much of a problem if we've had the usual rainy season, which is January through April," Duggan said. "If Lake Ogletree is filled by January, then usually the water supply is sufficient enough to carry us through a dry summer."
Lake Ogletree is Auburn's main water supply and is about 10 feet below its usual water level.
"Typically this time of year we aren't that far down," said Eric Carson, assistant director of Auburn water resource management. "So these rains we're getting right now are crucial for us to get full."
Auburn has already received more than two inches of rainfall during February, which Carson said is a step in the right direction toward returning the water supply to where it should be.
"Through January, we've gone eight months in a row below normal rainfall, so hopefully we can buck that trend in February," Carson said. "If we weren't to get full by, let's say, May, then we might have to purchase some more water from a neighboring utility like Opelika or possibly put on some types of restrictions. But we're hoping not to have to do that."
Carson said Auburn is still a few months away from having to make any type of decision regarding water conservation.
A similar incident occurred in 2008, when Auburn last experienced an extreme drought.
The Auburn Water Works Board increased water purchases from Opelika and highly encouraged people to save water any way they could. The board discovered that the more water the city generally uses, the more expensive it becomes to encourage people to cut back and conserve water when necessary.
"We tell people to conserve as much as they can," Duggan said. "In a normal year, we have plenty of water. It's just when you have a severe drought like this that it gets really expensive."
During this time of year, there are limited ways for people to conserve water, Carson said.
"In the wintertime, you're not really doing a whole lot of car washing and irrigating," Carson said. "But in the springtime, make sure you check irrigation systems--to make sure there are no leaks--and even take showers instead of baths."
Duggan advised people not to water lawns as frequently once the weather warms up and to plant crops that don't need a large amount of water to grow.
"If you are planning on planting a garden, maybe make a smaller garden until we can see how high the water levels are (in the spring)," he said.
Until the spring months bring clearer answers concerning the drought, Auburn citizens should keep practicing water conservation however possible because during the summer, water demand nearly doubles.
"That tells you how much water is being used on nonessential items," Carson said. "Just be smart with it, and try not to waste it."
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