Economy Won't Impede New Boat Ramp

Despite state budget cuts, the long-awaited Bear Creek Reservoir boat ramp will open this spring. The four counties that own the reservoir plan to pony up the money themselves. They are Barrow, Clarke, Jackson and Oconee. Gov. Sonny Perdue cut $125,000 for the project from the state Department of Natural Resources budget.

(Associated Press)

Jackson County files suit over water

A northeast Georgia county has filed a lawsuit claiming its neighbor uses too much water from a regional reservoir in times of drought. Jackson County wants a judge to agree that the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority allows Athens-Clarke County to exceed its rightful amount of water from the Bear Creek Reservoir. The suit says the four-county authority has not adjusted withdrawls to account for the drought. Other partners in the authority say Jackson County officials are misreading the agreement.

Athens reservoir back to normal level

Recent rains have helped re-fill a northeast Georgia reservoir officials say was about to run dry. 6 inches of rain in Athens last month means Bear Creek Reservoir is back at its normal level. Bear Creek serves four neighboring counties. As of yesterday it was 5 inches below normal … up from 14 feet below in October.

Bear Creek closed to public fishing access

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.

Talk of no water in NE Ga by Christmas

An official with Athens-Clarke County says that if drought conditions persist, the area will have to begin rationing of water by Thanksgiving, and the Bear Creek Reservoir would run out of water by Christmas. County commissioners were told that a total outdoor watering ban has cut water usage in Athens by nearly 20-percent. That combined with an emergency permit to draw water from the Middle Oconee River, will provide residents in Barrow, Clarke, Jackson and Oconee counties with drinking water until December 21st--under current drought conditions. Athens-Clarke County officials are working on a draft of Step F restrictions to present October 25th. That would involve prioritizing uses of water in an emergency drought management plan.

NE Georgia city enacts water ban

The existing drought and current heat wave sweeping the state has forced another city to enact a ban on all outdoor water use. Winder in northeast Georgia has announced the move. A city official says Winder's main source of water--the Mulberry River--has "gotten down to a trickle".

The city is considering buying about 5-million gallons of water per day from the Bear Creek Reservoir.

Many cities and counties across the state have either complete or very restrictive water bans in place.