Alabama Power will soon begin reducing by 10 percent the releases of water from hydroelectric dams on the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers.

The reduction is part of an effort to conserve water supplies in the face of developing drought conditions and could begin as early as the first week of December.

The National Weather Service and the state climatologist have forecast drought conditions to persist or intensify through the normally wet winter season. The 10 percent reduction will cut flows from the company’s Coosa and Tallapoosa hydroelectric projects into the Alabama River above Montgomery from 4,640 cubic feet per second (cfs) to about 4,176 cfs. The reduction will help Alabama Power to conserve water in its reservoirs on the two rivers.

In addition to the flow reductions, Alabama Power is pursuing additional measures, including requesting temporary variances to allow higher winter pools at Weiss, Logan Martin, Harris and Martin lakes. These variances in the requirements outlined in Alabama Power’s federal licenses would allow the company to capture and store water earlier than normal over the winter months.