ATHENS - Athens-Clarke County is restricting outdoor watering to cut down its demands on the Oconee River. <br>
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The Bear Creek Reservoir - which opened May - has lost 30 percent of its water because of the drought, say officials with the Athens-Clarke Public Utilities. <br>
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Athens-Clarke County draws about 25 million gallons of water a day. The area has had to rely almost totally on the reservoir since the end of July due to the low Oconee River's low levels. <br>
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County officials have decided to restrict outdoor watering to only one day a week. Officials are expected next week to decide whether to enforce a total ban. <br>
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The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is sticking to statewide watering restrictions set in June 2000. In most of metro Atlanta, outdoor watering is permitted every other day and only before 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. The rest of the state can water every day but not between 4 and 10 p.m. <br>
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Other counties that share the reservoir - Jackson, Barrow and Oconee - also have tightened the state-imposed restrictions. <br>
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Rivers and creeks across Georgia continue to run at or near record low-flows for the day.
