I’ve done a few stories about the water shortage, but nothing like this. There’s a big debate in the south about what to do concerning the lack of water. Some want to venture into protected lands and put the endangered species act on hold. Some elected officials have lead prayer services for those that believe in God to gather around and ask him for relief from the endless drought. Others are screaming at the federal government to take action and help out. But what about those who are being directly effected by the lack of help and are about to run out of water all together?
Welcome to Orme, Tennessee population 140. A place where the average income is just $15,000 year. Cell towers, schools, and malls are non-existent and every afternoon Mayor Tony Reames leaves his home, drives over to the town water tower, and lets the citizens of Orme have a few hours of precious high quality H2O.
You heard me. I said a couple of hours!! Due to the drought the source of the towns water supply (a creek that runs through the town) has all but ceased to exist, leaving residents remembering times gone by. “Back then you could ride ponies and horses up on the mountains and you didn’t need to go half a mile and you would find a stream," Reames said, adding: "A person don’t know what they have got till it’s gone” said the Mayor
Thanks to a couple grants from the Feds a water pipeline is being built that will connect the city with Bridgeport, Alabama, but like Orme residents are well aware of change doesn’t happen overnight. As one resident put it “People don’t like change and they don’t like losing their water” Amen to that. For now the people of Orme are surviving off bottled water donations, what little water they can collect during the approved hours of the day, and more importantly by depending on each other.
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