bills; others give up on watering

By JENNIFER RACCA

Staff Writer

July 18, 2000 10 PM

These days with the hot weather affecting just about everything around us, it’s no surprise that the water supply is short.

Local citizens are trying to be careful not to overdo it while watering their garden or letting their children participate in many outdoor activities such as playing under the water hose.

Sara Wilson of Troy says she’s seen a slight increase in her water bill and it has caused her to stop using so much water.

"My water bill has gone up, so I’m trying to conserve as much as possible," said Wilson.

Joanne Sanders from Brundidge has the same problem. "My water bill usually runs into the $20 range and now that I’m on the city water system it hasn’t been that outragous, but before I couldn’t water my garden as much," Sanders said. "It was difficult not being able to water what I wanted to."

Travis Alloway says his bill is going up too, but that’s because he waters his garden more.

"My garden looks great but the bill every month is bad news for me," said Alloway. "That’s OK though. I can live with it for the summer. The heat won’t last forever."

With temperatures reaching into the low 100 degree range daily it’s hard for some people to devote as much time to their gardens as they want and this has caused their bills to dip slightly.

Willie Furr is one of these people.

"I haven’t noticed that much of a difference in my water bill, but then all my flowers in my garden have wilted and died," said Furr. "I think that the drought has caused a decrease in my water pressure though."

Pearl Mitchell of Troy says she is faced with the problem of water shortage and not being able to tend to her garden as much because of the drought.

That’s something she doesn’t like it at all.

"Everything in my yard is burned up," said Mitchell. "My grass is parched and my garden looks worse."

Willie James Crawley said the drought has affected his style of living,

"I can’t stay in the heat like I used to and it has been difficult to keep my garden in good shape," said Crawley. "I wish that it would rain."

But rain is only in the forecast as metereologist continue to predict a "slight chance of scattered afternoon showers."

And that slight chance, and the little rain that that chance is likely to bring, just doesn’t seem to be enough for most area residents.

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