From the perspective of county commissioners and water managers, the state is putting local water utilities in a vice and is about to squeeze.

The House approved a bill Tuesday they say would make it tougher to meet the state's required 10 percent reduction in water use.

House Bill 1281 requires cities and counties to adopt the state's relaxed outdoor watering restrictions or get permission to impose rules tougher than the state's.

The bill passed 124 to 38. It now moves to the Senate.

Todd Edwards, a lobbyist for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, said the bill handcuffs local governments.

"I can't believe the state has more knowledge of our water systems and our capacities than our local governments do," Edwards said.

A separate drought-related House bill overwhelmingly approved Tuesday promises homeowners a tax break on water-saving plumbing and would fast-track building water supply reservoirs around the state.

That bill creates an new agency to build reservoirs. It also gives homeowners and developers tax credits of up to $2,000 for installing low-flow toilets and other water-saving plumbing.

The water restrictions bill was authored by Rep. Terry England (R-Auburn) to "force local governments to think about water usage and plan just a little further ahead ... with a scientific model rather than Joe running down to the creek and seeing if it's dry."

After five months of a near-total outdoor watering ban, inspired by record-breaking drought, the governor announced last month that swimming pools could be filled and lawns watered on a limited basis.

But several metro Atlanta communities, including the city of Atlanta, have chosen to maintain a near-total ban on outdoor watering to meet the state's mandated 10 percent reduction in water use.

The House bill would narrow that leeway, allowing local governments to petition the state Environmental Protection Division director for the right to enforce stronger outdoor watering restrictions than the new state rules.

It would also allow communities to petition for the right to impose lighter restrictions than the state's, or no restrictions.

Currently, local governments must impose restrictions at least equal to the state's, which allow outdoor watering with a garden hose between midnight and 10 a.m. three days a week on an odd-even schedule.

England, a Winder farmer and garden supply retailer, argued that the state's $8 billion landscaping industry has been hit with a $3 billion revenue loss.

The bill would also prohibit any restrictions on filling outdoor swimming pools, unless water supplies for human consumption, crop irrigation or industrial use are threatened.

The reservoir bill, HB 1226, also now moves to the Senate.

Environmental opposition to the bill was nullified with an amendment that would make it more difficult to fill a reservoir with water from another river basin.

The amendment "will protect those of us downstream," said Rep. Debbie Buckner (D-Junction City).

"Any interbasin transfers would have to go through a litany of considerations," to get approval from the EPD, said Buckner, who offered the amendment. Among the considerations is whether the receiving community has adopted water conservation measures.

The bill rewrites the Water Supply Act of 1989 to turn reservoir building over to the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, which currently helps local governments finance water and sewer projects.

The bill would create a new state agency called the Water Supply Division, within GEFA.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources must identify potential reservoir sites by Oct. 1.