Water has been shut off to about 50 homes in in Columbia County, east of Augusta, because of violations to outdoor water use restrictions put in place because of drought. The county is disconnecting the water for those violators who ignore the restrictions three times.

"It's like any rule or law: If you don't enforce it, than no one abides by it,'' said Margaret Doss, the water quality manager in Columbia County. "These are our customers and we hate to punish them. But on the other hand, the drought is significant and it has to be handled properly.''

Suburban Atlanta police also are asking neighbors to report water violators, south Georgia farmers are worried they may lose their shirts, and churches are holding services to pray for rain.

The drought has already forced state officials to restrict when residents can water their lawns limiting it to only early mornings on alternating days. Some cities, like Atlanta, have taken a step further and banned residents from watering lawns, washing cars and other outdoor water use to only one day per week.

The sweltering conditions are expected to intensify. State climatologist David Stooksbury this week classified 74 of the state's 159 counties as being in "extreme'' drought more than double the assessment he delivered just a few weeks ago. And he said he's doubtful conditions will improve over any time soon, as little precipitation is expected in the forecast.

The lack of rainfall is beginning to pinch people in different ways. In the north Atlanta suburb of Roswell, police are giving residents the option to call 24 hours a day to report water-use violations.

"We are neither encouraging or not encouraging calls. It's up to them,'' said Julie Brechbill, a Roswell spokeswoman. "Our main concern is that our residents follow the restrictions because we're in a drought.''

In rural areas, farmers worried about whether they should plant their crops are also facing a massive shortfall of hay, a key part of Georgia's $50 billion agriculture industry.

Bone-dry fields can't sustain enough grass to make hay, a favorite food of cattle and other livestock. Now there's hardly a bale of hay to be found in Tifton and other Georgia towns.

"I don't know what I'm going to do,'' said Derrick Jones, a Tifton farmer who this week could only scrape up enough bales of hay from his property to feed his 300 head of cattle for a day or two. "My only other option is to sell. That's not a good option, but it may be what we have to do.''

Larry Crumley, a farmer in nearby Berrien County, is hoping to use a bin of unused rye seed to feed his 200 cattle. ``It's down to that,'' he sighed. "We've bought all the hay we can buy, and it will last until Monday.''

The lack of rain has given some residents a reason to ask for divine intervention. A group of churches in Moultrie, a south Georgia town, has started a weekly prayer service on Wednesdays to ask for rain.

"The community needed to come together and feel like you're doing something,'' said Rhonda Royals, a secretary who attended the first meeting Wednesday. "And the only thing you can do is pray and pray hard.''

There are examples sprinkled throughout the Bible of parched residents asking for rain, so local pastors decided to follow suit, said David Oaks, the pastor at Heritage Church.

"We're desperate. Our lawns are brown and crunchy. The shrubbery is dying. It looks like the dead of winter,'' he said. "People have no control over the weather, so we do have hope that a higher power can help out. Without that we have no hope at all.''

You can get details at georgiadrought.org.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)