Fall and winter rains have refilled the Bear Creek Reservoir, but restrictions implemented last fall on those who use the water remain in place.
As of Jan. 25, the lake was just an inch below full pool, according to Hill Baughman of J & G Services, which manages the 505-acre reservoir and its water plant for the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority.
In spite of near-average rainfall in December and January, the flow of the Middle Oconee River remains low.
“Based on the historic levels of the river, it’s still low for winter,” advised Chris Thomas, the Oconee County utilities director who chairs the authority’s Operations Committee.
Thomas, speaking at the Jan. 25 meeting of the authority, said his committee may recommend that the authority “tweak” its drought management plan based on the authority’s experience – falling water levels in fall, but full recovery in winter.
Three counties – Barrow, Jackson and Oconee — draw water daily from the reservoir through its treatment plant. Baughman said the three counties used an average of 5.4 million gallons a day (mgd) during January, down 1 mgd from December. In Jackson County, water customers of the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority, Jefferson, Hoschton and Braselton get water from Bear Creek and are subject to the restrictions. Commerce, Nicholson and Maysville water customers are not affected.
Athens-Clarke draws raw water from the reservoir only when it cannot get sufficient water directly from the Middle and North Oconee rivers.
The authority’s drought management plan dictates when it begins to curtail water usage. Three components — stream flow, reservoir level and soil moisture — are used to determine the level of drought — and the authority’s response. The authority has been in a Level 2 response since Oct. 1 in regard to the outdoor use of water. That means even-numbered addresses may only irrigated on Saturdays and odd-numbered addresses on Sunday — but no watering from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. However, hand-watering with nozzles that can be shut off may be used any time.
The authority is permitted by the state to withdraw up to 60 million gallons a day through a three-unit pump station on the Middle Oconee, but its permit requires a minimum stream flow. When the volume of water falls below the “7Q-10” level, the authority cannot pump water from the river. That typically occurs in the fall, at which time Athens-Clarke’s intake from the two rivers is similarly curtailed and it begins withdrawing water from the reservoir, causing the lake level to fall.
