Outdoor Water Use Schedule

Why a Water Use Schedule?
On average, a single-family home devotes at least 30 percent of its water for outdoor uses such as landscape irrigation.  Unfortunately, up to 50 percent of that water can go to waste without efficient watering practices.  The Outdoor Water Use Schedule encourages Georgians to use water-efficient practices and reduce wasteful loss.  The schedule changes depending on drought conditions.

Current Non-Drought Watering Schedule - updated for 2023

Daily Watering
Use of an automated watering system or lawn sprinkler for planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, or shrubs is allowed between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m.

Outdoor Water Uses
You can use water outdoors at any time for:
  • Drip or soaker hose irrigation
  • Hand watering with a hose with an automatic cut-off or with a handheld container
  • Hydroseeding
  • Installation, maintenance, or calibration of irrigation systems
  • Pressure washing
  • Irrigation of athletic fields, golf courses, or public turf grass recreational areas
  • Irrigation of horticultural crops held for sale, resale, or installation
  • Watering new and replanted plants or seeds
  • Watering personal food gardens
  • Water from a personal well or alternate source (grey water, rainwater, condensate)

Not allowed at any time:

  • Failing to repair or bypass a leaking sprinkler head or emitter, valve, faucet, pipe, or toilet
  • Allowing tap water to flow into public rights of way such as alleys, streets, or gutters or onto another person’s property
  • Operating an irrigation system during rain events exceeding 1/4 inch
  • Washing vehicles, driveways, parking lots, or sidewalks WITHOUT using a shutoff valve or nozzle

Learn More
If you have any questions regarding outdoor water use, please call the Athens-Clarke County Water Conservation Office at 706-613-3729.  These guidelines are consistent with The Georgia Water Stewardship Act (June 2010).

Easy to print PDF version