Conserving Water During the Drought

Dripping faucet

Pardon the dust on our cars. We are conserving water by not washing our inventory during the drought!

Current State of the Drought

The weekly snapshot from the U.S. Drought Monitor showed a dramatic spread across the state of the worst drought conditions. The land covered by the “exceptional drought” rating – the highest on the drought monitor’s five-level scale – has almost doubled over the past week. It now completely covers the state’s largest metro area in Jefferson and Shelby counties.

Primarily confined to the north and east parts of the state, the “exceptional drought” rating has now spread west of Tuscaloosa. And a small patch in west Alabama last week has expanded to touch parts of nine counties.

(Photo source: AL.com)

Land covered by “exceptional drought” is at its highest percentage since February of 2008.

Altogether, there are all or parts of 34 of Alabama’s 67 counties affected by the highest level of drought: Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Colbert, Coosa, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lee, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan, Pickens, Randolph, Russell, St. Clair, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa and Walker.

A vast majority of the state (89 percent) is classified as either being in severe drought, extreme drought or exceptional drought.

What You Can Do

  1. Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth, shaving and soaping your hands.
  2. Wash only full loads of dishes or laundry.
  3. Spend ten minutes or less in the shower.
  4. Water your lawn only two days a week.
  5. Water plants in the early morning or evening to reduce evaporation.
  6. Check your sprinkler for leaks.

Until the drought ends, we will be doing our part to conserve as much water as possible, even if that means not washing our vehicles.

Disclaimer: The stock image is being used for illustrative purposes only, and it is not a direct representation of the business, recipe, or activity listed. Any person depicted in the stock image is a model.