With the lack of precipitation, Hays officials are keeping an eye on the Smoky Hill Well Field. City Manager Toby Dougherty says the water level didn’t bounce back in the fall as it usually does, but it is still rated fair.

Dougherty says if we don’t receive adequate precipitation through the spring and into the summer causing the level to drop, the city can request a release from Cedar Bluff Reservoir. The wells reached that level in 2006, but the city didn’t call for a release.