It's too soon

to start dancing in the streets to celebrate the end of the drought, but

recent rains have Fayette County's public water supplies in pretty good

shape.

County Water

System director Tony Parrott reported last week that the level of water

in the Lake Horton reservoir has risen more than a foot over the last

month, while customer demand has fallen.

"We're

in good shape," said Parrott. "Water usage is less than half

what it was" during the peak months last summer.

The Water System

averaged producing 7.2 million gallons of drinking water per day so far

in December, compared to nine mgd in October and 7.7 mgd in November.

Customers used 10.5 mgd on the heaviest usage day in November, on the

first, while the maximum so far in December was 8.2 million gallons Dec.

7.

It's a far

cry from the peak usage of about 16 mgd during the summer.

But although

the level at Lake Horton has improved, it remains at almost five feet

below normal. It was at seven below back on Nov. 1.

As long as

the rains continue and the water level in the Flint River remains high,

that situation will continue to improve, Parrott said. The county pumps

water from the Flint into Lake Horton to keep it full, but if the water

level in the Flint drops below a given level, state regulations require

that the county stop its pumping.

During the

early fall, Parrott said, the Flint stayed just an inch or so below that

level, which contributed to problems keeping Horton full.

More recently,

pumping is able to continue most of the time, he said.

Meanwhile,

outdoor watering restrictions remain in effect. Residents are permitted

to water from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. on an odd/even system. Water on odd days

if your street address is an odd number, and vice versa.