Conservation measures by the public, and water use restrictions by the cities of Lafayette and Red Boiling Springs got the county through the past summer's drought. Customers reduced their water consumption by 16-18 percent in September and October in Lafayette, and the RBS system's customers used 200,000 gallons less water per day than their normal summer usage.

Both cities are in the process of making improvements to their water storage and delivery systems with the possibility of drought conditions persisting again this next summer.

Lafayette now has connections to the Hartsville and Westmoreland water systems which allows for the purchase of several hundred thousand additional gallons of water per day. By the middle of the coming summer, Lafayette will have extended and enlarged the water lines running into and out of the Spring Creek pumping station, to allow for the use of Barren River water, and water from White and Adams springs at the same time.

"This will resolve a simple 'hydraulics problem' and provide better water delivery to the treatment plant," says Lafayette Mayor Bill Wells.

Red Boiling Springs will use a Community Development Block Grant to install new pumps and to construct an enlarged holding box at Hudson Spring early in 2008. A new water line will carry the additional water from Hudson Spring to the main Sabin Spring pumping station.

A new spring box at Sabin Spring has already been completed, which will catch several thousands of gallons of water that was being lost before the improvements were made.

The only other option appears to be a very expensive one. Engineering studies have been made on construction of a water line directly to the Cumberland River east of Hartsville. However, the city of Red Boiling Springs has shown no interest, and Lafayette would have to secure funding, either through grants, loans or bond issues, to finance such an ambitious project.