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ATLANTA -- Officials in two Georgia counties said they are considering keeping a water ban in effect despite the state's decision to lift outdoor water restrictions.
North Fulton and Athens-Clarke county officials said the matter is still up for discussion. North Fulton County, which draws water from the Chattahoochee River, used more water than allowed last summer, according to county spokesman Dwight Towns.
Georgia's long drought is over and the state-imposed outdoor water ban that went with it have been lifted. Now the Environmental Protection Division is drawing up rules to deal with future dry spells, instead of simply reacting to them.
Athens-Clarke County Public Utilities Deputy Manager Bob Snipes said a final decision on water use was expected soon. The county pulls its water from the Bear Creek Reservoir, which didn't reach full level before summer usage dropped it to 60 percent capacity.
The EPD division is putting finishing touches on a plan that permanently replaces some restrictions to conserve water, no matter what the weather. Cities and counties can still impose watering bans as needed. The Department of Natural Resources Board could approve the plan as early as May.
Among the restrictions would be limiting outdoor use to three days a week, enough to maintain lawns, EPD spokesman Kevin Chambers said.
If it's approved by the DNR Board, the plan would be presented to local governments, suppliers, environmentalists and scientists.
The goal is to change Georgians' attitudes toward conservation, said Nap Caldwell, senior water policy adviser for the EPD. He compared the plan to the national effort in the 1960s to curb littering.
``The foundation of the campaign was to appeal to the sense of moral responsibility,'' he said.
The drought began in May 1998. It caused the agency to limit outdoor watering to every other day. Residents in hardest-hit counties were additionally forbidden to water their lawns during the daytime.
``Most of the state has enjoyed normal to above-normal rainfall over the past few months, and that means water-use restrictions are no longer necessary,'' EPD director Harold Reheis said. ``It is important for all of us to recognize the environmental and economic benefits that derive from wise and conservative use of our shared waters.''
David Stooksbury, a University of Georgia engineer and state climatologist, said current levels would not provide enough water for the surging state population. He added that while lakes and streams have risen, groundwater supplies take longer to catch up.
During the drought, the state imposed stricter limits in 15 metro Atlanta counties, where outdoor water use was banned from midmorning to mid-afternoon every day. Many counties there now say they'll follow the EPD's lead and allow restrictions to be dropped.
Some districts are using other means to encourage conservation. In DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, for example, water authorities recently added surcharges for excessive water use during the summer. And authorities left the door open for future, locally imposed restrictions if the demand is greater than the supply.
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