Lack of rainfall in the area has prompted Appalachian Power Co.  to again reduce the amount of water it releases  at Smith Mountain Lake, where the water level has dropped another foot in just two weeks.

And the town of Rocky Mount may soon institute mandatory water restrictions.

The lake, as well as other areas generally south of Roanoke — such as Rocky Mount and the greater Franklin County area — are experiencing more severe drought conditions than the rest of the region.

Most rivers and reservoirs have seen a decrease in flow since the dry conditions began a little over a year ago, said meteorologist William Perry  with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg.

Areas south of Roanoke and Bedford as well as west of Danville , toward Bristol, are the driest areas, he said.

Though July was  active with thunderstorms, their impact was scattered, hitting some areas with heavy rain and passing over others.

Two to 5 inches  of rain needs to saturate the area before residents get any relief, Perry said.

The flow of the Blackwater River, which feeds into Smith Mountain Lake and is Rocky Mount’s main water source, continues to drop. As of Friday, town officials measured the flow in a part of the Blackwater at 4.4 cubic feet per second — down from 12 cubic feet per second at the end of July. The flow was about 30 cubic feet per second this spring, said Matt Hankins , Rocky Mount’s assistant town manager.

Rocky Mount officials asked residents to voluntarily conserve water July 28.

“It hasn’t helped the way I hoped it would,” Hankins said of the conservation call. “We haven’t seen a dramatic drop-off  in usage.”

Since then, the lack of rainfall and conservation efforts  have worsened the problem.

Town officials will meet early next week to discuss the possibility of implementing Stage 3 of the drought response plan, which includes mandatory conservation, Hankins said.

In Stage 3, a local state of emergency would be declared, bulk water use and sales would be prohibited and a water-abuse hotline would be implemented.

“We don’t want to scare anybody, but we have to make sure we have enough water to maintain,” Hankins said.

At Smith Mountain Lake, the water level has dropped another foot since state officials authorized a variance — which took effect  on July 29 — to help raise lake levels while maintaining adequate Staunton River  flow downstream. The variance is tied to a system that’s always been in place at Smith Mountain Lake, in which water is both released and pumped back to operate the hydroelectric system. Appalachian will now provide a minimum daily average discharge of 480 cubic feet per second from Leesville Dam  into Staunton River, said spokesman John Shepelwich . The original variance allowed the company to release a minimum daily average of 500 cubic feet per second, down from its usual minimum of 650.

Water flows have historically been increased on the weekends for downstream recreational purposes. A  flow of 650 cubic feet per second will now occur only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturdays, according to Appalachian.

If conditions have not improved by the end of the 45-day variance period in early September, the company and its stakeholders will decide if an extension — or other action — is needed.

Meanwhile, a water source in a  region that’s been plagued by drought several times over the past decade — the Carvins Cove  reservoir in the Roanoke Valley — is in much different shape this year. As of Friday, the water level there was 7.2 feet below the spillway, when  normally it’s more than 15 feet low. At 7.2 feet low, the reservoir is 80 percent full.