Recent rains led to the March 2 announcement by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) that outdoor water use requirements have been eased in Fayette and more than half of Georgia’s counties.
Improving drought conditions have resulted in Fayette and 30 other counties being upgraded from a Level 2 Drought Response to a Level 1 Drought Response, EPD said.
A total of 55 counties have been removed from the Levels 1 and 2 Drought Response in place since last November and designated non-drought. Water systems in these counties are not responsible for any drought response actions, but must follow the non-drought schedule for landscape watering, which is after 4 p.m. and before 10 a.m. any day of the week, according to EPD.
Twelve counties will continue in Level 2 Drought Response. Among those is Coweta County.
During a Level 2 Drought Response, outdoor landscape watering is only allowed two days a week determined by odd and even-numbered addresses. Even-numbered addresses and properties without numbered addresses may water on Wednesday and Saturday before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. Odd-numbered addresses may water Thursday and Sunday before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m.
EPD said the activities allowed under both Level 1 and Level 2 Drought Responses include:
- Irrigation of new and replanted plant, seed, or turf may be done at any time of day for 30 days after installation.
- Irrigation of personal food gardens may be done at any time of day.
- Drip irrigation or irrigation using soaker hoses may be done at any time of day and hand-watering with a hose with automatic cutoff or handheld container may be done at any time of day.
- General landscape watering may be done after 4 p.m. and before 10 a.m. on the designated days.
“Winter rains have brought needed relief to much of the state, but Lake Lanier, the Chattahoochee River and smaller streams in the region have been slow to recover,” said EPD Director Richard Dunn. “As a result, the Level 2 Drought Response will remain in place in the upper Chattahoochee River Basin, including most metropolitan Atlanta counties.”
More water conservation information is available at http://epd.georgia.gov/water-conservation.
