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Dry Weather Leading To Concerns About Drought
Dry weather is increasing the likelihood that the Bear Creek Reservoir, which provides water for Jackson, Barrow, Clarke and Oconee counties, will have to implement the first level of its drought management plan.
Mike Leonas, chairman of the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority, reported last Wednesday that while the reservoir remains full, water levels in the Middle Oconee River are beginning to fall.
The authority uses the flow in the river, soil moisture, the water level in the reservoir and the Palmer Hydrologic Drought Index to dictate when to implement the drought plan. The first step is Level 1, which is to curtail water use among the four member counties by 2.5 percent. The curtailment advances to 20 percent as a drought worsens and subsequent levels of the plan come into play.
The authority also voted to spend $5,672 for a hand-held global positioning system (GPS) device recommended by Leonas’ committee for use in management and oversight of the buffer zone around the reservoir. The device is accurate to within one foot, Leonas said, and can be used with the recent GPS mapping of the authority’s property, including the lake, to pinpoint boundaries when property owners with lake frontage plan activities near or in the buffer zone.
In other business:
•Hill Baughman, operator of the water plant, reported that the plant treated an average of 6.7 million gallons per day last month - but hit 9 million gallons Tuesday, May 23. Baughman also reported that the reservoir remains at full pool.
•Jackson County Board of Commissioners Chairman Pat Bell requested that payment to Jackson County in lieu of taxes be put on the agenda for the next meeting. Under the agreement by which the reservoir project was undertaken, the authority is supposed to reimburse Jackson County for property tax revenue lost by the taking of more than 500 acres for the project.
•Leonas announced that repairs have been authorized for one of the raw water pumps in the Middle Oconee River.
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