Athens-Clarke County received some drought relief from almost six inches of rain in December, but without substantial precipitation over the next few months, the county may be in for a record-setting dry summer.

Between Dec. 14 and Jan. 3, the county received 5.91 inches of rain, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Web site.

While this rainfall gave the county temporary relief from the drought, the forecast for spring and summer has not changed, according to a Dec. 21 news release from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Athens-Clarke County resides in the Piedmont region of Georgia, one of the regions in the state most affected by the drought, and it needs “a significant recharge of the soil moisture, groundwater, streams and reservoirs” over the next three to four months to avoid more severe conditions in the summer, according to the release.

Matthew Chappell, an assistant professor of horticulture, said the rainfall Athens received over the break helped raise the Middle Oconee River’s water level enough to allow the county to pump some water into Bear Creek Reservoir. But the amount of rain was not enough to reach the groundwater supply.

“It saturated the top soil layer maybe down to six or eight feet, but we’ve been so dry that the amount wasn’t enough to help the groundwater,” Chappell said.

He also said water conservation tapers off when people see that amount of rainfall.

“In December, we had above normal rainfall and so people stop conserving. They stop taking the five-minute showers,” Chappell said.

The La Niña weather pattern, which brings warmer and drier conditions to the Southeast, also could perpetuate the drought in Georgia, he said.

To prepare for worsening conditions, Athens Mayor Heidi Davison and county commissioners revised the county’s drought management plan Dec. 4 to define “Step F,” a plan that would save 1 million gallons of water per day if implemented.

The ordinance also set forth the consequences for violating Step F, which include $1,000 fines and turning off one’s water supply.

If enacted, Step F would require different water customers to reduce water consumption by a set amount. For example, industries and commercial entities would have to reduce each of their annual average water use by 16 percent, according to the drought management plan ordinance.

For now, Step F remains an idea as officials watch the Middle Oconee River and Bear Creek Reservoir, which could rise with more winter rainfall.

“In our local community, we should be going into the spring with Bear Creek at full pool,” Chappell said.