Fayette County is not changing its watering restrictions for now, meaning there will be no "hand watering" of plants nor any watering of newly-installed landscaping, whether done by a professional or by the homeowner.

The matter of filling pools will be addressed at a later date, said Fayette County Water System Director Tony Parrott.

The county is projecting to have a daily wiggle room of just 130,000 gallons this month and next before it crosses the threshold of violating the 10 percent water use reduction required by Gov. Sonny Perdue. Because the baseline is set compared to the county's water usage 12 months ago, the "wiggle room" will increase during the summer months so it's possible some watering may be allowed during the summer, Parrott said.

With the current total outdoor watering ban, the county is averaging 6.4 million gallons a day. Using the average usage from April to September of last year, subtracting the 10 percent cut, leaves 3.5 million gallons daily for outdoor watering if that is determined to be feasible, officials said.

Interim County Manager Jack Krakeel said the state climatologist is projecting the drought will continue. He also noted that the upcoming spring months are when the county typically depends on rains to replenish the reservoirs.

Perdue announced last week that despite the ongoing drought residents would be allowed to water by hand using a garden hose with a spray nozzle that closes for up to 45 minutes every other day between midnight and 10 a.m. Also the state will allow newly-installed landscaping to be watered during the same hours for up to 10 weeks on an odd-even schedule, so long as the person or entity doing the watering takes an online course on water conservation and landscape watering.

But none of that will not be the case in Fayette, at least for now. Water officials said Wednesday morning that they could evaluate the restrictions in several weeks.

"We've been proud of our customers and we've met the 10 percent each month," said Water System Director Tony Parrott.

The county has an estimated 250-day supply of water on hand right now, and although Lake Kedron has picked up some volume with recent rains, Lake Horton is at 50 percent of its normal level. Lake Kedron is up to being 78 percent full but Lake Horton is down 7.5 feet, more than twice as low than it was last year at this time.

Parrott told the county's water committee that he didn't think pool filling and hand-watering of landscaping would be much of a drain during the summer months, particularly since most residents will merely be topping off their pools.

Parrott said he was concerned about the possibility of allowing watering for new landscaping, which could feasibly include sod or even overseeding of lawns.