Henderson, N.C. — For David Faulkner, there's only one way to describe Kerr Lake.

"I call it home," he said.

He's used to seeing the lake levels about 4 feet lower in the winter. The levels are managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, but to his trained eye, it's lower than usual.

"I'd probably say it's been this low, or lower, more than 10 times in my life," Faulkner said.

Right now, the lake is less than 293 feet above sea level. Usually for this time of the year, it should be above 295 feet.

Henderson, as well as several other cities and counties get their water from Kerr Lake. Those areas have spent nearly a month in a voluntary conservation period.

"We certainly want to be prudent with the voluntary conservation measures of not wasting any water," assistant city manager Frank Frazier said.

The reason for the low levels is lack of rain – since June, less than half of what the lake usually gets.

It has park officials urging boaters to be cautious, since they don't know what they could hit.

In fact, the levels are so low that several of the boating ramps in the area had to close.

Henderson, however, will not go into a mandatory conservation period unless the lake drops several more feet.