Town Of Caney, Kansas Facing Extreme Water Shortage

Caney, Kansas is having a terrible water shortage, and city leaders say if they don’t get rain by the end of the year, they’ll have to declare a State of Emergency.

They’ve had a severe drought, and lots of people are worried.

Businesses have had to restrict their bathrooms to paying customers only, and now the school plans to go down to four days a week to conserve water.

Image Provided By: Caney Valley Schools

People who live in Caney, like Debbie Mitchell and Karen Brown, say it’s been tough trying to get by with only a little bit of water.

“I used to do laundry twice a week; now it’s once a week,” Mitchell said. “Dishes, about every other day. Showers, every other day.”

The town of Caney is on the highest level of water restrictions at Emergency Level Two. That means conserving water isn’t just recommended- it’s mandatory.

“I want to cherish every drop,” said Kelley Zellner, the City Manager of Caney. “We don’t want to waste a single drop of it. That’s the thing. Water is the source of life, and we need to cherish every drop of it.”

Zellner says the city’s worst drought was in 1952, and the city is about to break that record.

“You never think that you’re going to surpass the record of drought. But we’re hoping and praying and believing there’s going to be rain,” said Zellner. “If we don’t get rain by the end of the year, we are going to have to declare a state of emergency for the city of Caney.”

They hope to avoid that by putting up portable toilets and keeping kids home from school one day a week.

The people in Caney are holding on to the hope that rain will come, and they will be able to get back to normal.

“We just do what we can to help what we can," said Brown. "And pray that others are doing the same.”

There will be a special meeting on Thursday at 5:45 p.m. in town where people can discuss their concerns and learn about what the city is doing.