Summer might be over, but dry weather conditions have stuck around.

Warren County is known for its flowing rivers and waterfronts which kayakers and fishermen alike flock to, but a dry spell has led to lower water levels across the county and, according to co-owner of Smooth Rapids, Jimmy Barker, has dried up some of the kayaking participation.

“The lower water has had somewhat of an effect on kayaking for us,” said Barker. “We always inform customers of the water levels ahead of time and let them make an informed decision.”

Aside from recreational pursuits, the river’s health is important for water consumption locally and rain is relied on to keep the river level high enough to allow for proper treatment.

During the month of September, Water Treatment Plant Manager Ricky Morton reports the area received .67 inches of rain and October followed with a paltry .46 inches of rainfall. The most-recent month with substantial precipitation was August when almost the entirety of the month’s 7.21 inches of rain was collected across a small handful of days due to heavy storms. 

In spite of the shallow rainfall, Morton is confident his department is experiencing little difficulty continuing to supply clean and fresh water to its approximately 6,300  taps.

“Right now, we aren’t having any issues with things on the treatment side,” explained Morton. “While the river is low, we aren’t asking anyone to conserve water or anything like that. We have no problem with pumping presently. I’ve seen the river this low before, it’s not really anything new, but we are still crossing our fingers as we would like to see a little water.”

In addition to the lowered water levels, periods of low rainfall create fire-related hazards due to dry foliage and brush which can quickly cause a fire to burn out of control. Between the dates of Oct. 15 to May 15, burn permits are required to burn debris or have open-air fires. Given the area’s parched conditions, local fire departments announced a halt on issuing those burn permits on Nov. 3 at 10 a.m. until further notice.

Morton indicated November tends to be one of the drier months, but he expects conditions to change moving into December through March when rain becomes more commonplace. The Weather Channel optimistically reports rain could be in the forecast on Thursday and Friday with chances in the 50 to 60 percent range.