Watering exam: Pass and spray

Some 14,400 Georgians have officially earned a little extra H2O.

Since March, that many drought-savvy North Georgians have qualified for special watering privileges by studying a brief primer on water conservation and then taking an online quiz.

It’s a program sponsored by the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council, a coalition of landscaping-related businesses, seeking (desperately) for a way to bounce back after getting burned by Georgia’s ongoing drought. (Estimated losses to the industry: $3 billion.)

Visitors to the Web site www.outdoorwateruse.com can (after paying a $4.95 fee) read a 10-page presentation, then take a 20-question quiz.

If they score 70 percent or better, quiz takers can then use sprinklers to water new grass and plants on an odd-even schedule. (Current water restrictions limit other home gardeners to hand-watering between midnight and 10 a.m.)

“It’s raised awareness,” said Mary Kay Woodworth, president of the Urban Agriculture Council, estimating that the quiz, and other measures, have reduced water usage by 29 to 32 percent.