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Drought plan in effect for reservoir
Water systems that rely on the Bear Creek Reservoir have been ordered to cut consumption.
The Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority, which owns the reservoir, enacted its drought contingency plan effective Saturday. The move means Jackson, Barrow, Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties must cut their use of water by 2.5 percent.
The authority voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of its operations committee to implement the first step in a multi-phase water-reduction plan. The recommendation was based on observations of stream flow in the Middle Oconee River and the Palmer Hydrological Index, which considers several factors.
“The hydrologic index went from a positive number to minus two and has been in a downward trend for four months,” said committee chairman Mike Leonas of Oconee County. “It will not go up overnight.”
Part of the criteria for declaring a drought includes the water level in the reservoir. According to Leonas, the reservoir was full, but with the river level dropping quickly as the rains of June 24-26 drained away, the committee decided it was time to take average.
“Looking at the indicators and the severity of trends, the Operation Committee thought it appropriate to initiate a level one response,” Leonas advised.
The possibility of the drought getting to the point where the authority cannot take water from the 505-acre reservoir drew questions from Pat Bell, chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.
“How low can we take this reservoir?” she asked.
Leonas replied that the reservoir was designed to provide a 120-day supply of water.
“How much of the water can we take?” Bell said, rephrasing her question.
“All of the water,” Leonas answered, but then added that the Environmental Protection Division would insist on an “operational level” below which water could not be removed.
Bell’s concern is that while Jackson County in theory owns 25 percent of the contents of the lake, it is being “penalized” because it is not drawing its maximum daily allocation (13.25 million gallons a day) from the lake. By contrast, if Athens-Clarke uses its full allocation (23.32 million gallons a day), by the time the reservoir is emptied, the actual percentage of water Jackson County got as the reservoir was drained would be well below its proportionate share under the ownership arrangement.
“We’re paying for water that’s ours and being penalized for it,” Bell complained. “We need to review this contingency plan.”
The authority also voted to give chairman Melvin Davis authority to order implementation of subsequent phases of the drought plan upon the recommendation of the Operations Committee.
WATER RESTRICTIONS
Even prior to the decision, the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority had advised its customers to follow the odd-even outdoor water use schedule proposed by the Environmental Protection. Residences with odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from midnight to 10 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to midnight. Residences with even-numbered addresses may water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from midnight to 10 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to midnight. No one may water on Fridays.
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