Franklin water customers should start cutting back.
Two months of limited rainfall have dropped the Harpeth River so low the city can no longer pull drinking water from it. The city announced on its official Instagram account on Oct. 20 that it is asking all customers in its water service area to voluntarily conserve water while officials monitor conditions.
Williamson County is in a severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the city said in its announcement. Severe drought is the second of four drought categories tracked by the monitor, which classifies conditions on a D1-through-D4 scale, according to drought.gov.
The Harpeth and Cumberland rivers serve as Franklin's two drinking water sources, the Williamson Herald reported. With the Harpeth too low for withdrawals, the city said it is relying on its reservoir to supply water to its treatment facility. The city did not disclose the reservoir's current capacity or how long it could sustain demand on its own.
The conservation request is voluntary for now. City officials said they will continue monitoring the situation but did not specify what conditions would trigger mandatory restrictions.
Franklin has been here before. In October 2023, the mayor declared an Emergency Status 1 Water Shortage that banned non-essential water uses, according to a city press release from that time. That declaration prohibited washing driveways and sidewalks, filling swimming pools, watering golf courses and using fire hydrants for anything other than firefighting and water-quality maintenance. The city's water utility district served 19,064 customers at the time of that 2023 declaration.
The current situation has not reached that level. No named city official has made an on-record statement beyond the city's social media post, which did not identify a spokesperson.
Customers looking for water-saving tips can visit the Water Management Department's conservation page at franklintn.gov.
