People who get their drinking water from the Bear Creek Reservoir will soon face some restrictions on the outdoor use of water.
Both the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority, which owns the reservoir, and the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority petitioned the EPD last week to begin restricting outdoor water use. They expect to get EPD approval early next week
The major thrust of the restrictions is to reduce consumption of water from the reservoir by 2.5 percent. Athens-Clarke, Barrow and Oconee counties, the other owners of the regional reservoir, have made the same petition to the EPD.
Basically, the major change is that the irrigation of lawns and landscapes — other than those recently installed — is relegated to the hours from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. on an odd-even schedule based on address. At addresses ending in an odd number, irrigation may take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, while those ending in even numbers may water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The counties are also asking that the EPD allow them to move to a second level of restrictions on Oct. 1 if drought indicators suggest that the situation continues to worsen.
The level of the water in the regional reservoir is more than seven feet below full pool and is falling by about three inches a day.
