Thursday, February 7, 2008

New Outdoor Watering Restrictions

*** The Department of Watershed Management is instituting new service-area-wide restrictions on watering. No outdoor watering is allowed until further notice.

The following activities are exempted from the City of Atlanta’s new watering restrictions:

  1. Personal food gardens
  2. New landscaping installed by a certified or licensed landscaper. These newly installed landscapes may be watered any day of the week between the hours of 12:01 a.m. and 10 a.m. for a period of 30 days following installation. You have one exemption per year / per property. There is no longer a 30-day exemption for lawn areation & overseeding, or for planting sod in existing/established landscapes. A 30-day watering exemption for sod pertains only to new construction.
  3. Swimming pools may be filled through an irrigation meter, domestic meter, well water or other alternate source. The City does not be provide pool filling services during the drought. Pool filling is subject to change due to drought conditions.

The following commercial outdoor water uses are exempt from watering restrictions:

  1. Professionally certified or licensed landscapers, golf course contractors, and sports turf landscapers: during installation and 30 days following installation only. Professional landscapers must be certified or licensed for commercial exemptions to apply.

    All landscape professionals and all customers seeking a 30-day watering exemption for newly installed landscape must register with the Outdoor Water Use Registration Program at http://www.urbanagcouncil.com/ per February 11, 2008 Order of Ga. Environmental Protection Division Director Carol A. Couch.

  2. Irrigation contractors: during installation and as needed for proper maintenance and adjustments of irrigation systems and equipment only.
  3. Sod producers.
  4. Ornamental growers.
  5. Fruit and vegetable growers.
  6. Retail garden centers.
  7. Hydro-seeding.
  8. Power-washing.
  9. Construction sites.
  10. Producers of food and fiber.
  11. Car washes.
  12. Other activities essential to daily business.
  13. Watering-in of pesticides and herbicides on turf.
All other uses fall under the new service-area-wide restrictions which state:

City of Atlanta customers may not water outdoors. No outdoor watering is allowed until further notice. This service area includes the City of Atlanta, Sandy Springs and unincorporated South Fulton County.

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