The village of Athens last week joined other municipalities in the Hudson Valley and imposed restrictions on water usage as the result of the ongoing regional drought. Village officials Sept. 2, notified residents that the lack of rainfall has resulted in seriously low water levels at the village reservoir. The Water Warning has immediately gone into effect. Mayor Amy Serrago has imposed mandatory limits on water use for a variety of purposes, including watering lawns, washing cars, pressure washing, and any other non-essential use. Those restrictions will remain in place until further notice. Under the rules, residents are strongly discouraged from planting new sod and are strongly encouraged to postpone planting of all new shrubs, flowers, trees, gardens and other landscaping until conditions subside. Water runoff is strictly prohibited. Residents are advised to eliminate the use of water to maintain ornamental fountains, artificial waterfalls, reflection pools and decorative water bodies for aesthetic or scenic purposes. And filling swimming pools, wading pools or hot tubs is forbidden. Officials put conditions at stage two, calling for increased public awareness and the enforcement of mandatory measures, such as watering restrictions. At the Water Warning stage, the village is expected to reduce the collective water demand by 30 percent. Read more at AthensVillageNY [dot] com.