While we've all felt the affects of the water shortage, three Kentucky counties are facing a new problem that could wipe out the water supply altogether. An upstream pool area around Green River Lock and Dam #3 is a water source for Butler, Ohio, and Muhlenberg Counties. The rocks on the dam are eroding and if something isn't done soon, the dam could be breached.

"The current in the river is pushing the rocks downstream," says Alan Vilines of the Butler County Water System. "It's causing little streams to form across the top of the dam, and the concern is that a high current could push even more rocks in and eventually breach the dam."

The flow of the river has already pushed several boulders that were once along the dam into an area much further downstream.

"That happened last year or the year before," adds Dale Franklin of the Fish and Wildlife Department. "In the last couple years, those have been moving significantly."

And if the dam does breach, the loss of this upstream pool could wipe out the water supply to 46,000 people in Butler, Ohio and Muhlenburg Counties.

"If this goes out, it's going to be a lot more serious than the Woodbury dam was, because we will be dry,” says Morgantown mayor, Eva Hawes. "We will be dry. The river from here up to Woodbury will be dry."

But county officials are remaining optimistic about their situation. They've called in help from the Corps of Engineers, and they're hoping to weld the lock gates shut, and fill the lock chambers with stone to stabilize the gates.

"What we're asking basically is if we can get it back up to the dam's original state, if we can get the water level up close to that, we have a water pool," explains Butler County Judge Executive David Fields.

"I feel pretty confident that we'll get something done," adds Mayor Hawes. "I just hope it happens before it's too late."

Officials in Butler County say they have explored the option of getting help from the Warren County water district. But following this summer's drought, no other area county is able to help with Butler County's water supply.