Bear Creek Reservoir in Jackson County has been closed to public fishing access to prevent people from driving out onto the dry lake bed. An official with the county’s parks and recreation department says people driving on the exposed bed were trespassing into backyards of lakefront residents. Bear Creek provides drinking water to people in the counties of Jackson, Clarke, Barrow, and Oconee counties. The extreme drought has left the reservoir 13 feet below its normal level.
