After an emergency draining of Lake George earlier this spring, the city is struggling to find enough raw water to purify and meet demands of its 1,500 customers.
City Administrator Adam Ledford said all options are being explored, including retesting a large volume of water underground that exists at the former Lucile Mine near the city’s maintenance garage. The water was tested in 2013, but found unsuitable at the time due to high concentration of fluoride and sulphur.
Other short- and long-term options continue to be explored. Princeton Water District appears to be capable of meeting Marion’s demand for just under 500,000 gallons of drinking water a day, but there’s a question of how to deliver it. A small line near Shady Grove ties Crittenden-Livingston Water District to Caldwell County Water District. Whether that four-inch pipe is capable of transmitting sufficient help remains to be determined.
Meantime, the City of Marion is beginning to stockpile resources such as bottled water and notifying state agencies and the National Guard in case the situation reaches an emergency level.
Right now, Marion continues to draw from its only remaining raw water source, Old City Lake. However, it has less than a 20-day supply, and the forecast for the next week to 10 days is calling for very dry and hot weather.
