Latest rules loosen some watering restrictions

The state has allowed more than 40 water providers in drought-stricken North Georgia to loosen outdoor watering restrictions for lawns and flower gardens, including Cherokee, Clayton, Fayette and Henry counties.

Communities that depend on Lake Lanier and the upper Chattahoochee River for water, including the city of Atlanta and the counties of Cobb, DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett, will not be relieved from the state-mandated restrictions on watering, state Environmental Protection Division Director Carol Couch has said. Lake Lanier, which releases water into the Chattahoochee through Atlanta, is lower than it has ever been this time of year and is expected to continue dropping, potentially jeopardizing the region’s water supply.

Here are the state rules for watering lawns and flower gardens, which most metro Atlantans must follow (including those who live in the city of Atlanta and the counties of Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall and Paulding):

• No sprinklers. Use a hand-held garden hose with an automatic shut-off only. And only one hose at a time.

• Watering is allowed three days a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays for houses with odd-numbered addresses and Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays for houses with even-numbered addresses.

• Watering is allowed for up to 25 minutes between midnight and 10 a.m.

• Drip irrigation and soaker hoses are OK, for up to one hour three days a week, before 10 a.m.

• More liberal rules for new landscaping allow sprinklers for 10 weeks after planting new grass, shrubs, trees and flowers, on the three-day schedule and limited hours.

To use the more lenient rules, homeowners must be certified through an on-line course given by the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council at www.urbanagcouncil.com. Certification is also available from each county’s extension agent.

The new rules for lawns and flower gardens in other North Georgia communities are as follows:

For Athens-Clarke County, Barrow, Jackson and Oconee counties, the city of Lavonia, and customers of the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority:

• Sprinkling is allowed one day a week between midnight and 10 a.m. At the discretion of the water provider, odd-numbered addresses may water on Sundays or Thursdays; even-numbered addresses may water on Mondays or Saturdays.

For the cities of Ball Ground, Calhoun, Canton, Cartersville, Chickamauga, Dawsonville, Hartwell, Lafayette, Locust Grove, Madison, Rockmart, the town of Trion, and the counties of Catoosa, Floyd, Madison, Polk and Walker:

• Sprinkling is allowed two days a week between midnight and 10 a.m. At the discretion of the water provider, odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursdays or Sundays; even-numbered addresses may water on Mondays, Wednesdays or Saturdays.

For the Bent Tree Community in Jasper, the cities of Carrollton, Chickamauga, Commerce, Elberton, Fort Oglethorpe, LaGrange, McDonough, Monroe, Newnan, Rome, Stockbridge, Toccoa and Waleska and the counties of Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, and Henry:

• Sprinkling is allowed three days a week between midnight and 10 a.m. Odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; even-numbered addresses may water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

No matter where you live, it’s OK to fill swimming pools and sprinkle vegetable gardens. Also, those who live in areas where the watering restrictions have been loosened are still allowed to hand water their landscapes for 25 minutes a day between midnight and 10 a.m. up to three days a week (odd-numbered addresses on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and even-numbered addresses on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays). Looser restrictions apply to new landscapes by registering with the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council at www.urbanagcouncil.com.

Contact your water provider for more specific information.