Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

WINDER, GA. (AP) -- Officials in Barrow, Jackson and other northeast Georgia counties are reconsidering plans to deal with a slowdown in projected population growth.

U.S. Census Bureau figures show that Barrow County, which had been growing 5 percent to 7 percent a year for about a decade, grew only 2.7 percent between 2008 and 2009. Jackson County, which had been growing 4 percent to 7.5 percent each year, grew just 2 percent.

County leaders relied on high-growth projections to make decisions about infrastructure projects such as reservoirs, water treatment plants, parks and roads.

Consultants caculated that Oconee County would grow by 4 percent for the next several years and run out of water by 2014. County officials partnered with Walton County to build the $100 million Hard Labor Creek reservoir.

(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)