Georgia utility companies urge customers make small changes to water use as drought continues

A Level 1 drought is now in effect across Georgia, and while there are no mandatory restrictions yet, officials say what happens next depends on how much people conserve now.

The Level 1 drought declaration applies to all public water systems using surface and groundwater, meaning the focus is on prevention.

Utility companies, for example, are asking customers to make small changes such as limiting unnecessary water use indoors and being more strategic with outdoor watering.

In places such as Fulton County, officials are also offering tools like irrigation meters, which let homeowners better track and manage outdoor water use.

Clayton County pulls from five reservoirs, and Erin Thomas with the Clayton County Water Authority shared tips with CBS Atlanta on how to properly conserve.

"We are on a public campaign in which we're informing customers that are both commercial and residential on how to conserve water," Thomas said. "So that's doing things like making sure when you're brushing your teeth or if you are washing your face, turn the tap water off so that way you can conserve it. Water any landscaping outside between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., so that way we can reduce the amount of water that's wasted."

She said the goal is to reduce strain on water systems now before conditions worsen.

"If we're not getting the water, then eventually we could potentially run out of water, which we know that we can't live without water, or we would have to source it from a different way versus the natural way, and we don't necessarily want to do that either," she said.

State leaders say if a drought declaration is upgraded to a Level 2, it could mean limiting when you can water outside or even banning certain uses altogether.