Cornelia , Baldwin, Demorest ask customers to conserve water

The City of Cornelia has joined with the mayors of Baldwin and Demoerst in asking residents, businesses, and industries to conserve water.

Local water resources are strapped due to the weekend flooding caused by Hurricane Delta.

According to Cornelia Public Works Director Keith Etheridge, the water shortage in the area has affected Cornelia’s ability to help other systems in the county. “Conservation efforts will allow Cornelia to continue to help the other water systems with critically depleted water supplies,” he says.

Etheridge, along with Baldwin Mayor Joe Elam and Demorest Mayor Rick Austin, is appealing to water customers to please limit their water use until further notice.

“Producing the water is not at the level it should be at, so, we’re struggling,” says Elam. He says Baldwin’s water sources are “dirtier than they should be” and it’s taking longer to get it clean for distribution.

Demorest buys much of its water from Baldwin. In addition to the low water supply, Demorest is also working to repair damaged water lines.

A Boil Water Advisory remains in effect until further notice for all Demorest water customers who lost service during the weekend storm or since.

As of late Tuesday, Demorest City Manager Kim Simonds said there were still two small areas that remained without water, adding that repairs have been hampered by the destruction of roads.