Water Restrictions
As part of our water management services in North Georgia all water systems owned or operated by American Water Services, Inc are under the following water restrictions as mandated by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
The following restrictions are directly from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources website.
The State of Georgia has returned to a non-drought schedule for outdoor water use. It allows daily outdoor watering for purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants only between the hours of 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. by anyone whose water is supplied by a water system permitted by the Environmental Protection Division.
The non-drought schedule is included in the Georgia Water Stewardship Act that went into effect statewide on June 2, 2010.
The following outdoor water uses also are allowed daily at anytime of the day by anyone:
- Irrigation of personal food gardens;
- Irrigation of new and replanted plant, seed, or turf in landscapes, golf courses, or sports turf fields during installation and for a period of 30 days immediately following the date of installation;
- Drip irrigation or irrigation using soaker hoses;
- Hand watering with a hose with automatic cutoff or handheld container;
- Use of water withdrawn from private water wells or surface water by an owner or operator of property if such well or surface water is on said property;
- Irrigation of horticultural crops held for sale, resale, or installation;
- Irrigation of athletic fields, golf courses, or public turf grass recreational areas;
- Installation, maintenance, or calibration of irrigation systems; or
- Hydroseeding.
American Water Services, Inc. will allow filling of swimming pools as long as the following conditions are met.
- Hoses filling the pool may not be open more than 25% of full flow
- Pools must not be filled during times of peak demand. (weekends, 6:00 to 9:00 A.M., 5:00 to 9:00 P.M.)
- Filling times must be limited to one hour intervals (please allow at least a 30 minute break between intervals)
American Water Services does not allow continuous full unrestricted flow for outside hose bibbs and hydrants. All hose connections or hoses shall have some form or watering device connected when in use for more than 5 minutes such as a sprinkler head or hand held spray nozzle.
Large pools holding 2500 gallons or more that will require complete filling must either have written approval from American Water prior to filling or must be filled with tanker trucks or other means.
Anyone caught violating water restrictions that causes or results in pressure and/flow issues for the water system will be charged $120 per incident
More information about water conservation and drought is available at https://epd.georgia.gov/watershed-protection-branch/water-conservation