Coweta adopts new outside watering rules

The Coweta County Commission last week unanimously adopted an ordinance amendment on outside watering that will put the county in compliance with recent changes in state law. Though there are a number of exceptions included, the ordinance requires outside watering to be done between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m.

The ordinance pertains to the passage of Senate Bill 370 that was signed into law on June 1. The law requires that cities, counties and water suppliers incorporate into their ordinances the restrictions on watering outdoor landscaping.

Beginning Jan. 1, watering can be done between the hours of 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. on any day of the week. The previous odd/even residential watering requirement is no longer applicable.

That said, there are a number of exemptions to the law. Those include commercial agriculture and livestock uses, irrigation of food gardens, irrigation of newly installed or re-seeded turf for the first 30 days, drip irrigation or soaker hoses, alternative sources of water, hand watering with a shut-off hose, water from a private well, irrigation of plants for sale, watering horticultural crops held for sale, reuse or installation, irrigation of athletic fields, golf courses or public recreational turf, installation, maintenance or calibration of irrigation systems and hydroseeding.