Have You Taken the 40 Gallon Challenge?

The weather is getting hotter each day and it seems like it is raining less and less. It is the time of year when we face potential drought. Many people have asked lately about the current rules for outdoor watering. After Paulding County imposed the stiffest outdoor watering rules in the entire state in 2007 and the state continued to impose regulations into 2009, many people are confused about the current rules as they apply to lawns and gardens. 

The Georgia Water Stewardship Act went into effect statewide on June 2, 2010. 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 (translation, Paulding County Water System customers). 

Irrigation of personal food gardens is allowed daily at any time of the day for anyone. 

Outdoor water use for any purposes other than watering of plants, such as power washing or washing cars, is still restricted to the current odd/even watering schedule.

• Odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
• Even-numbered and unnumbered addresses are allowed to water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

If you have questions about outdoor water uses, please contact the . Outdoor water use for any purposes other than watering of plants, such as power washing or washing cars, is still restricted to the current odd/even watering schedule: Odd number addresses=Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Even-numbered addresses=Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

Although it is nice that we can water our gardens and lawns, it is possible for the rules to become stricter if drought begins to impact our water supply. In Paulding County, we depend on water sources from other counties to supply us, as we do not currently have a reservoir inside our county limits. Because of this, it is especially important that Paulding County citizens take water conservation seriously. 

There are many things you can do to conserve water that will benefit you by saving you money and benefit our water supply by conserving this vital resource. Take the 40 Gallon Challenge and commit to conserving water in Paulding County. Once you have taken the challenge, forward your confirmation email on to Mary Carol Sheffield at msheff@uga.edu to be entered in a drawing to win a 55-gallon rain barrel! The rain barrel winner will be notified via email on July 15. Winner must pick the rain barrel up from the Paulding County Extension Office.