In spite of daily forecasts of “scattered thundershowers,” local reservoirs’ water levels are again dropping as they typically do in the fall.
As of Tuesday morning, the Bear Creek Reservoir was 692.12, 2.88 feet below full pool, said plant operator Ken Moore.
While amounts vary from location to location, much of Commerce got less than 1.5 inches of rain in July and about the same midway through August. Results were similar in the watershed for the Middle Oconee River, from which water is pumped into the Bear Creek Reservoir.
The Commerce reservoir is just a tenth of a foot below full, said Bryan Harbin, director of water and sewer operations for the city.
The good news is that ample rain during the spring and early summer kept both reservoirs topped off and in good shape as fall — the dry season — approaches.
“This is the lowest level it’s been (this year),” Harbin said. “In July it dropped to 697.5 on the twenty-second, but it was back up to 697.6 Aug. 4 and then dropped back to 697.5.”
The city’s lake at full pool is 697.6 feet above sea level.
The Bear Creek Reservoir provides water to Jackson, Barrow, Oconee and Athens-Clarke counties, although Athens-Clarke gets most of its water directly from the Middle and North Oconee rivers when their flow is sufficient.
It hasn’t been lately.
Athens-Clarke had to take an average of 11.27 million gallons per day (mgd) from the Bear Creek Reservoir during the week ending Aug. 14. For that same week, the other three counties used an average of 10 mgd, Moore said.
Meanwhile, the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority, which owns the reservoir, was able to pump only 20.2 million gallons from the river into the reservoir for the same week. When there is sufficient flow in the river, the plant’s pumps can pull 60 million gallons a day from the Middle Oconee.
This week’s precipitation outlook is about like it’s been the past two weeks — 30-40-percent chance of rain. So far, it hasn’t helped much.
