Water woes

There's nothing like a record-setting drought to highlight weaknesses in rural and municipal water systems and cause hard feelings.

The Muscle Shoals Water Department, which is selling water to several neighboring water systems, announced last week it is increasing its price per thousand gallons from $1.35 to $2.35. The news was greeted with disbelief and anger.

The water board, which is independent of other city operations, sells water to the Spring Valley and Colbert County water systems in the east end of the county. Recently, Muscle Shoals has been selling water to Tuscumbia, as well.

The 74 percent price hike appears to be excessive. Based on what board member David Yarber said, a profit of as much as 55 cents per thousand gallons is being reaped from the increase in price.

Muscle Shoals water officials said a review of its finances revealed the board was losing money and adjusted prices to reflect actual operating costs after its manager left.

Colbert County's engineer, John Bedford, said most water treatment plants should be able to supply water for considerably less than Muscle Shoals is charging.

Tuscumbia is also buying water from Sheffield to meet demands on its system. But the water must be routed through the Muscle Shoals system because there is no direct link between Tuscumbia and Sheffield. Tuscumbia Utilities manager David Thornton has asked the city council for money to establish a direct link, which should prove to be a good decision.

All of this points out the lack of connectivity in Colbert County's water systems. The severe drought is exacerbating problems that don't normally arise in years with normal rainfall.

There are at least a half dozen water systems in a county serving about 50,000 people. A more unified and coordinated approach to obtaining and delivering water would eliminate some of the duplication of services, saving taxpayers money and reducing the need for outside water sources in dry years.

Meanwhile, residents are being asked to conserve water by refraining from washing cars and watering lawns. Those are small sacrifices to make considering the strain being placed on local water systems.

Local governments should also begin adopting ordinances that give them authority to mandate water conservation in emergencies. Rain has been scarce in the Tennessee Valley for more than three years and temperatures have been higher than normal. While no one can control the weather, we can control how much water we use.