As of today, Gwinnett County further relaxed its previous watering restrictions, which were modified on the first of April.  The county’s restrictions now match the state’s restrictions.

The big change is that you can now water newly installed landscaping (whether you install it or a professional installs it) for 10 weeks following installation 3 days per week, following the odd-even watering day rule.  Homeowners with an even address can water on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, while odd numbered addresses can water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.  No watering is permitted in Friday. You will also need to register with the Urban Agriculture Council and take a short online course on proper watering procedures.  The printable certificate you receive after passing the course must be posted outside your home.

The previous restrictions allowing filling of pools and hand-watering of any plants for 25 minutes on the odd-even schedule remain in place.

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Gwinnett County today revised its watering restrictions to allow hand watering as permitted by state guidelines, but held off on making changes to its policy for watering of professionally installed landscaping.

As you may remember, in mid-February, the county revised the watering restrictions it had put in place in December to allow filling of swimming pools. It also modified its rules regarding watering of professionally installed landscaping to allow watering on 10 days within 30 days of installation if a sign was posted and the homeowner had completed an online course. The county’s guidelines were set to expire on March 31st.

In March, the county commission delegated the authority for managing watering restrictions during the drought to county administrator Jock Connell. He decided today to relax the restrictions on hand watering to those allowed by the state. That means you can use a hose with a hand-activated nozzle to water your plants for up to 25 minutes three days per week, on an odd-even schedule. People with even numbered addresses can water on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, while people with odd numbered addressed can water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. All watering must be done between midnight and 8 AM. Food gardens can be watered anytime, and the you are not allowed to use your 25 minute window to wash your car.

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It’s probably just coincidence that on the day with the most rainfall since last December, Gwinnett County clarified its plans for outdoor watering this spring. While the county has gone along with the state and allowed the filling of swimming pools, it has declined, at least for the moment, to go with the relaxed hand watering rules announced by the governor a few weeks ago.

In mid-December, the county commission passed a water conservation resolution (PDF) that set limits on outdoor watering that were more restrictive than the state’s level four watering restrictions in effect at the time.  The resolution limited the state’s exemption for watering of new or reconditioned landscape to watering on ten of the first 30 days following installation or reconditioning. The resolution also requires that exempted homeowners and businesses post a sign visible from the right of way stating the exempted area, the installation date, the firm doing the installation/reconditioning, and the property owner’s name.

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Although Georgia’s drought isn’t over yet, Governor Perdue announced some loosening of watering restrictions today that will take effect on April 1st. The changes were made to help the landscaping industry which was facing a very bleak year if the current no watering at all ban remained in place. The changes also resolve the question of what to do about swimming pools this summer. (more…)

Gwinnett County has added a new page to its website that addresses some of the issues with the ongoing drought, and the county’s water consumption from Lake Lanier. One of the main points is makes is that Gwinnett draws a much smaller amount from the lake than the Army Corps of Engineers releases from Buford Dam. That’s pretty well illustrated in the following chart, which compares water usage over the last two months:

The county also addresses the issue of water consumption, noting that per-capita water usage has fallen from 80 gallons per day in the 1990s to 71.7 gallons per day on average from 2003-2006. Of course, this measure doesn’t account for the growth in the county’s population over the last ten years.

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