Water restrictions likely to end this week

Jackson, Barrow, Clarke and Oconee county officials made the requests individually last week as well as collectively through the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority.

The group petitioned the EPD for a level 4B restrictions — which allows the watering of yards twice a week — plus the ability to use water for washing cars and using pressure washers. Neither of those activities has been permitted locally for more than a year.

Jackson County’s contact at the EPD said he was “100 percent sure” the request would be accepted, manager Eric Klerk told the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority last Thursday night.

When it is approved, the Jackson County authority will announce the lessening of restrictions via newspaper ads and messages on its website (www.jcwsa.com) under “drought update,” along with a notation on its monthly bills.

The changes affect Jackson County residents who get their water from the county water and sewerage authority — much of unincorporated Jackson County plus the municipalities of Arcade, Braselton, Pendergrass and Talmo. (Commerce, Maysville and Nicholson are under no such restrictions.)

When the restrictions are lifted, water customers with addresses ending in an odd number will be able to irrigate lawns and landscapes on Mondays and Wednesdays from midnight to 10 a.m., while those with even-numbered addresses will be allowed to irrigate on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That watering is in addition to the 25 minutes of hand-watering allowed daily.

The irrigation of vegetable gardens is not restricted in any form.

The plan submitted by the four counties to the EPD also details how restrictions will be reinstated should the level of the Bear Creek Reservoir again fall sharply. If the level reaches 80 percent of capacity, the group will fall back to level 4A, which provides one-day-per-week watering (on an odd-even schedule in Jackson), then drop to a total ban on outdoor water use if the lake falls to 70 percent full.

Right now, Jackson County officials want to sell water. The authority’s finances are strained because water sales dropped precipitously as citizens adjusted to restrictions put in place the last two summers to conserve water.

“Hey folks, we need to sell some water,” said Randall Pugh, the authority’s chairman. “We need to encourage folks to take advantage of this.”

Braselton Sales Help
The authority is selling more water, thanks to the Town of Braselton.

Klerk reported that from March 18 through April 9, Braselton averaged buying 390,000 gallons per day from the authority, which supplanted Gwinnett County as the town’s water supplier.

In addition to the $25,400 extra revenue for the authority, the purchase also helps keep water from going stale in the northern part of the authority’s system, and it helps reduce the authority’s per-unit cost for all water it buys from Bear Creek, further improving the authority’s cash flow.