Three feet more water and a year’s experience make a lot of difference.
Although the area remains mired in the worst drought in state history, the angst about reservoir levels and water restrictions is nowhere near what it was just one year ago.
On Nov. 7, 2007, the Bear Creek Reservoir was 12.78 feet below full and officials spoke in terms of the date at which the regional reservoir would run dry. Severe water restrictions were in place among all four counties and Jackson County was buying 600,000 gallons per day (gpd) from Commerce to re-sell to Jefferson, whose reservoir had run dry.
On Nov. 7, 2008, the Bear Creek Reservoir was 9.68 feet below full, but no one is talking about when the reservoir might run dry. However, in early October the four counties in the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority all went back to the level four water restrictions imposed by Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2007 but with little fanfare compared to a year ago.
The area, if it has not acclimated to living with a drought, has at least quit fearing its consequences, thanks to a year of experience.
“It’s having gone through this last year,” said Eric Klerk, manager of the county water and sewerage authority. “A lot of people acclimated to it. People are using less water. They’re kind of in a mode of conservation.”
Embroiled in a dispute over its allocation from the regional reservoir, this year the county water and sewerage authority feels no sense of
In Commerce, the city reservoir is full — compared to six inches below full at this time last year. Instead of the severe water restrictions, city water customers can still water their yards three days a week.
Its reservoir has never reached the point where the city’s drought contingency plan would kick in, a fact attributed to its large drainage basin and a number of springs in the lake that feed the reservoir.
For the full story, see the Nov. 12 edition of The Commerce News.
