On Monday, Mayor D’Anna Browning reinstated Stage 3 restrictions, the city’s most extreme level of conservation. Stage 3 was last implemented in the summer of 2023.
Marion residents are once again prohibited from washing vehicles, sidewalks, or porches, and from using municipal water to irrigate non-food-producing plants. The city's goal is to ensure essential water needs can be met by curtailing unnecessary usage.
The emergency order will be in effect until further notice.
The mayor also noted that with the return of all-time low levels on Lake George, a higher concentration of manganese in the water will cause discolored water in city lines.
National Weather Service extended outlooks predict continued dry weather, and their historical data shows that August, September and October are typically the driest months of the year for western Kentucky.
The city's emergency water actions began in 2022 when Lake George was purposely breached to prevent a sinkhole from causing major levee failure.
The breach resulted in the loss of more than 180 million gallons of water from the lake, and the ability to retain that volume of water in the future. Temporary measures have been taken to repair the levee, but meanwhile Lake George can only hold a fraction of its previous capacity.
In 2024, the Crittenden Livingston Water District received a $10 million grant to expand its service to Marion, but that project has a 2 to 3 year timeline for completion.
Photo: Sign in Marion during original water crisis of 2022 (WSIL)
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