Less water now coming into the Barnett Reservoir than going out; water supply not impacted - WLBT

Less water now coming into the Barnett Reservoir than going out; water supply not impacted

RANKIN COUNTY., Miss. (WLBT) - The Ross Barnett Reservoir is now bringing in less water than it’s putting out.

However, officials with the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, the group that oversees the reservoir, say it’s too early to be concerned.

Between Monday and Tuesday, intake at the reservoir fell to around 219,000 cubic feet per second.

The amount is about 36,000 cubic feet fewer than the reservoir is legally required to release to maintain flow downstream.

“Right now, the water elevation is dropping about three one-hundreds of a foot per day,” said Chief Engineer Mark Beyea. “The lake level will drop slowly until some rain is received.”

The inflow has fallen off due to the scant amount of rain reported in the reservoir basin.

Prior to Thursday’s scattered showers, the last time the metro area received rain was on August 8, when a trace amount was recorded, according to National Weather Service figures provided by Beyea. Before that, two one-hundredths of an inch of precipitation fell on July 30.

Even so, Beyea says as long as the reservoir maintains its current inflow, there’s no reason for concern.

He also says it’s unlikely that the decrease in inflow will impact local water supplies.

“We would still be able to supply Jackson if the reservoir dropped 10 feet from where it is now,” he said. “Jackson could still withdraw water if it dropped 15 feet.”

In recent days, water conservation advisories have been issued by the cities of Madison, Canton, Florence, and Jackson.

Florence’s advisory was issued Friday, asking customers to limit outside water use due to concerns regarding well capacity.

It was a similar message issued by Madison, Canton Municipal Utilities, and JXN Water, all of which asked customers to cut back on watering lawns, filling pools, or using sprinkler systems amid the ongoing drought.

“The water conservation notices that the different municipalities are putting out have nothing to do with the water supply... They have more to do with the capacity of the delivery system,” Beyea said.

“I live in Madison... and their notification actually said it’s not a matter of if there’s enough water to supply you, but how fast the system can deliver it.”

Beyea said a similar notice could also be issued by PRV.

“Our delivery system can only deliver so much,” he said. “Even though our wells provide more than enough, we don’t have enough places to store it all if people are demanding too much.”

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