Dry Platte River Impacting Lincoln, Not Omaha
As extreme drought conditions continue across the state, we've had many viewers wondering why Omaha, the biggest city in Nebraska, is not under the same watering restrictions as the capital city.
Experts say it's because Omaha draws its water from both the Missouri and the Platte Rivers.
The Missouri River has a much bigger flow and hasn't been impacted by the drought in the same magnitude as the Platte.
Lincoln water system officials say the restrictions in the city have helped out water levels, but not enough to lift them.
Jerry Obrist, Chief Engineer for Lincoln's water system, says "We didn't necessarily want to go to mandatory but we didn't have a lot of choices because we were continuing to lose ground and we had to do something a little bit more drastic."
Lincoln is down to using around 55 million gallons a day.
Obrist say it's enough for now, but they're definitely hoping for some rain soon.
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