Officials ask Georgians to temper water use

With most of the state suffering from extreme drought and little relief, authorities are urging Georgians to be conscientious of their water usage.

Local officials have encouraged residents to conserve through toilet replacement rebates and retrofitting programs, but they mostly defer to the Stewardship Act, which went into effect statewide last year in June and governs outdoor watering and other water usage.

“People should follow the state’s guidelines,” said Heather Sawyer, a Gwinnett County spokeswoman. “But we also want people to keep up through our website.”

The act restricts outdoor watering between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and standardizes lead reporting by public water utilities. It also requires new conservation steps beginning next year in June, such as sub-metering of multifamily, commercial and industrial construction, and high-efficiency toilets, urinals and fixtures in all new construction.

Here's a list of other outdoor water uses that are allowed daily:

• commercial agricultural operations;

• capture and reuse of cooling system condensate or stormwater in compliance with local ordinances and state guideline;

• reuse of gray water in compliance with state codes and health regulations;

• use of reclaimed waste water by a designated user from a system permitted by the Environmental Protection Division;

• irrigation of personal food gardens;

• irrigation of new and replanted plant, seed or turf in landscapes, golf courses and sports turf fields during installation, and for 30 days following the date of installation;

• drip irrigation or irrigation using soaker hoses;

• hand-watering with a hose with automatic cutoff or hand-held container;

• use of water withdrawn from private wells or surface water by a property owner or operator;

• irrigation of horticultural crops held for sale, resale or installation;

• irrigation of athletic fields, golf courses and public turf grass recreational areas;

• installation, maintenance or calibration of irrigation systems;