Fayette County officials want to remind residents that odd-even watering restrictions are still in place, part of which includes a total ban on outdoor watering for everybody on Fridays.

Water System Director Tony Parrott said water usage has crept up from an average of 7.5 million gallons a day in May to 11.9 million gallons a day by the end of June. The data also shows a continued spike in water use on Fridays, when watering is not allowed, he noted.

State water officials expect to see drops in Fayette’s water usage on Fridays when outdoor watering is not allowed, Parrott explained.

Parrott said many Fayette residents might not realize that the odd-even watering system is still in place. Last month, Governor Sonny Perdue announced the lifting of the more strict drought-based watering restrictions, but residents might not have heard about the remaining odd-even restrictions remaining in place.

Under the odd-even restrictions, odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Even-numbered and unnumbered addresses are allowed to water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Water use may occur at any time of the day on the assigned days, but landscape watering is discouraged between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. because of its limited effectiveness.

When water system employees spot customers watering outdoors on Fridays, the customers are later contacted by phone to remind them that odd-even watering restrictions do not allow any outdoor watering on Fridays, Parrott said.

Parrott said he is not advocating that citations be issued to outdoor watering violators. He noted that the water department does not “enforce” the watering restrictions; instead the county marshal’s department issues such citations.

If the watering restrictions are not adhered to, it could deplete the county’s stored water in its reservoirs, Parrott said.

“Three days a week (of outdoor watering) is a whole lot better than what we had last year,” Parrott said. “If all people participate we can go all summer long this way.”