OSCEOLA, Iowa — The city of Osceola has been forced to pay close attention to their water usage, as the impacts of a four-year drought brought the city close to losing its water supply.
While recent storms have helped cut the drought deficit, officials said the city is not out of the drought quite yet.
The city has recommended to conserve water and make adjustments since October.
"It's everything that they do in their daily lives, from laundry to dishes and just really having to watch their usage," said Brandon Patterson, superintendent of Osceola Water Works.
The deficit is decreasing, and the recent storms are to thank. The late April and early May systems have increased the water source level by three feet.
"As long as we keep having above average rainfall, we're hopeful that we're headed in the right direction now," Patterson said.
The city gets their water from West Lake in town,. At the drought's worst, lake levels were seven feet below pool level. Now, they lake levels are 3.5 feet away from returning to normal.
Osceola hasn't seen the lake completely full since May 2021, and since the levels are close, Patterson stresses that it is not a sustainable option.
"I just want to make sure everyone understands that this is like a four-year problem that we've had, and it's going to take a little time to get our lake back to where it needs to be, so even though we've had rain, that trend needs to continue," Patterson said.
Despite the water levels increasing by three feet, the four-year drought is what has compounded the problem.
"We just want to be able to get our supply refilled so we can continue to focus on constructing our new reservoir," Patterson said. "So, when we have a drought again, we're prepared."
The city has a Water Board meeting Thursday, where they will look into possibly easing restrictions on the conservation ordinance.