Henry County is dealing with Georgia’s severe drought, but water customers here don’t have nearly as much to worry about as some other areas.

  The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Protection Division is calling for a Level 1 Drought Response from 103 counties, including Henry, according to officials with the Henry County Water Authority. Residents will be educated on the severity of the drought and its effect on water resources while receiving encouragement to practice water conservation and wise water use.

  The largest impact from the current conditions in Georgia, which range from abnormally dry to extreme drought, is on the crops and agricultural industry. Some water supplies are impacted, but in Henry, not so much.

  The HCWA’s independent water supply, a network of five reservoirs with more than 18 billion gallons of raw water supply, provides a considerable resource in such situations. The authority does not draw any of its supply from a body of water with multiple jurisdictions depending on it, such as the Chattahoochee River or Lake Lanier. But local water users will still be encouraged to conserve.

  “We certainly are going to stay in compliance with the state’s request to educate our customers on the effects of prolonged drought and its impact on water supply,” said HCWA general manager Lindy Farmer. “But through proper long-range planning, including significant investments in our own water resources, we have worked hard to be as prepared as possible for continued drought so it will have minimal effects on our customers.”

  To determine the appropriate level of drought response for communities all across the state, Georgia EPD considers several factors, including precipitation, stream flows, groundwater, reservoir levels, short-term climate predictions, and soil moisture. HCWA reservoirs are not immune to the drought, however, as the Authority’s five drinking water reservoirs are below full pool, although recent rains have helped, according to HCWA official Pat Hembree.

Water users also should consider that the current outdoor water use schedule, according to the state’s Water Stewardship Act of 2010, remains in place. It limits outdoor water use year-round to the hours between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. There are exemptions to this limitation listed online at epd.georgia.gov/watershed-protection-branch/water-conservation.

  For additional means of wise water use, citizens can check out the water conservation public information on the HCWA website at www.hcwa.com/community-education/residential-water-conservation.cms.