(MARYVILLE, Mo.) Extreme drought conditions have Maryville city officials keeping a close eye on Mozingo Lake levels.
Mozingo Lake is the primary water source for the city of Maryville. According to city officials, the lake's water level is nearly two feet below normal.
In a normal year, the lake would be at 19 to 21 feet but is between 17.1 and 17.4 feet this year.
According to Maryville City Manager, Greg McDanel, the lake is actually closer to normal than what they anticipated. This is because the area saw heavy rain last summer, which caused flooding at the lake.
"Last year, we had excessive flooding so we were around 23, 24 feet." McDanel said. "So that looks like a dramatic decrease from to 17 where we are at now."
While the lake is low, officials are not worried about water supplies in Maryville. The lake would have to drop another three feet before basic water restrictions would go into place.
"At 14 feet, we would begin basic water restrictions such as lawn watering as well as car washing, those kind of things." McDanel said.
The area continues to see extreme rainfall deficits on the year and more rain is needed to keep water levels from falling even further.