MARION, Ky. (WSIL) -- Life in Christ Church is in its third week helping neighbors in Marion, Kentucky struggling through a water crisis.
Pastor Chris McDonald says the church offered to help after some residents missed their designated water distribution day from the Kentucky National Guard.
The church reached out to numerous groups around the country for assistance. They received word from the groups Hope International and Convoy of Hope, based in Bernie and Springfield, Missouri, respectively.
On Tuesday, the church received two more shipments of water from those groups. To date, McDonald says volunteers have distributed more than 3,500 cases of water in the past three weeks.
"There's so many good people out there that want to do things and reach out into other communities," McDonald said.
Besides giving out water, the church also gives paper products like towels and plates so that people can throw away disposable utensils in order to cut back on dishwashing.
"It takes a bottle of water to wash a plate properly. You know if you're feeding several in the family it doesn't take long until you've used up a case of water just to do dishes," McDonald said.
Tuesday's rain was more than welcome, says city administrator Adam Ledford. Ideally, Ledford would like to see 3 to 3.5 inches of rain added to the lake. Ledford says the lake has about one week of water in it.
"It would put us in a position where the lake has a chance to really come up from where it is and fill up our current supply levels," Ledford said. "There's a lot of water in the forecast. So hopefully by the end of the week that will change greatly in a good and positive manner."
Ledford says the state is working on a connection between the city of Sturgis and Crittenden-Livingston Water District. That connection would add about 80,000 to 130,000 gallon of water per day.
Ledford says the city may have to adjust to this way of living for another three years, as engineers and state officials continue surveying the area for potential long-term solutions.
For now, McDonald and his army of volunteers plan to stay on and help through the duration of the crisis.
But the question remains: how long can they sustain their supply?
"My hope is that we keep the channels open to get supply in so we can help long term," McDonald said. "You don't think about how much water you go through until you don't have it readily available."
The city council is holding a meeting Thursday night to give an update on the crisis.