As with many areas in the region the water situation in Independence remains a little bit of good news and more bad news.

 The good news is that water is and continues to be available for use in Independence. Even if there is no rain in the next couple of weeks, Neewollah will not be impacted. Daily average water use per meter is just under 162 gallons of water per day and city officials say usage has dropped from summer levels and is currently about average. Cooler fall temperatures also mean less evaporation fro Elk City Reservoir. 

The city reports for the last week of September, the average water pull from the Verdigris River was 1.98 million gallons per day while last week's average pull was 1.76 gallons per day. The city has used the first 60 million gallons of supplemental water and secured an additional 60 million gallons on a short-term contract on September 1. An additional amount of 200 million gallons that will be an annual contract is expected to be put in place by the end of October.

There remains little rain in the near-term forecast.