EXTREME DROUGHT

This photo shows parched and cracked earth that once was covered by a farm pond. Cherokee County is one of five Upstate counties now declared to be in "extreme" drought conditions. Can mandatory water restrictions be far behind? Drought conditions have reached the worst level here, but the South Carolina Drought Response Committee stopped short of imposing mandatory water restrictions.

Committee members voted Monday to upgrade Cherokee, Greenville, Spartanburg, Oconee and Pickens counties' drought status from "severe" to "extreme."

"This upgrade is in recognition that conditions have continued to deteriorate and have now reached the highest level of drought," according to a Gaffney Board of Public Works press release.

The committee could have imposed mandatory water restrictions, but voted against it, Gaffney Board of Public Works General Manager Donnie Hardin said.

The committee will meet again in a few weeks and may decide to restrict water use, Hardin said.

Parts of the Upstate are as much as 20 inches below normal rainfall during the past 12 months, marking the driest period in more than 60 years, according to the National Weather Service.

This year, Cherokee County is about 10 inches below normal rainfall amounts, Hardin said.

The Broad River, the utility's water source, is flowing at about 250 cubic feet per second - a rate not recorded until late last summer. The river's normal flow tops out at 1,400 cubic feet per second.

"What has us concerned is that the level we are seeing now we didn't see last year until late September," Hardin said. "While we are continuing to meet present water demands and maintain the level of water in Lake Whelchel, the flows at Broad River have reached very critical levels."

Last summer Gaffney Board of Public Works and some water districts throughout Cherokee County asked their customers to practice voluntary water conservation. But Hardin said the utility has seen very little reduction in water usage since last summer.

"If we can't reduce water usage through voluntary conservation, it may become necessary to impose mandatory restrictions such as those already in place in other areas," Hardin said.

"What has us concerned is that the level we are seeing now we didn't see last year until late September. While we are continuing to meet present water demands and maintain the level of water in Lake Whelchel, the flows at Broad River have reached very critical levels." - Donnie Hardin Gaffney BPW general manager The Gaffney Board of Public Works has issued water conservation guidelines, including checking and repairing leaks in toilets, faucets and pipes; using automatic dishwashers and washing machines only for full loads; limiting watering of lawns; and operating irrigation systems only on alternate days.