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PART II - CODE OF ORDINANCES Chapter 86 - WATER AND SEWERS ARTICLE III. - WATER CONSERVATION Columbia County, Georgia, Code of Ordinances Page 1 of 6 ARTICLE III. - WATER CONSERVATION Sec. 86-81. - Applicability. Secs. 86-82—86-86. - Reserved. Sec. 86-87. - Standards for outdoor watering of landscape. Sec. 86-88. - Outdoor water use schedule during declared drought response levels. Sec. 86-89. - Exemptions. Sec. 86-90. - County regulation. Sec. 86-91. - Permit to fill swimming pools. Sec. 86-92. - Permit to fill tank or tank truck. Sec. 86-93. - Violation; penalties. Secs. 86-94—86-120. - Reserved. Sec. 86-81. - Applicability. This article shall be applicable to all persons which use or purchase water from the county water and sewerage system. (Code 1979, § 2-7-20) Secs. 86-82—86-86. - Reserved. Editor's note— Ord. No. 05-02, § 1, adopted Mar. 15, 2005, repealed 86-82 and 86-85. Former § 86-82 pertained to water conservation plan and derived from Ord. No. 00-3, § 1(2-7-21), adopted June 20, 2000. Former § 86-85 pertained to notice of water conservation plan and derived from Ord. No. 00-3, § 5(2-7-24), adopted Junes 20, 2000. Ord. No. 05-02, § 3, renumbered 86-83, 86-84 and 86-86 were renumber as 86-91—86-93. Sec. 86-87. - Standards for outdoor watering of landscape. Restriction on outdoor watering of landscape. Outdoor watering for purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants in the unincorporated area of the county may occur only between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m.; provided, however, that this limitation shall not create any limitation upon the following outdoor water uses: Commercial raising, harvesting, or storing of crops; feeding, breeding, or managing livestock or poultry; the commercial production or storing of feed for use in the production of livestock, including, but not limited to, cattle, calves, swine, hogs, goats, sheep, and rabbits, or for use in the production of poultry, including, but not limited to, chickens, hens, ratites, and turkeys; producing plants, trees, fowl, or animals; or the commercial production of aquacultural, horticultural, dairy, livestock, poultry, eggs, and apiarian products or as otherwise defined in O.C.G.A. § 1-3-3; Capture and reuse of cooling system condensate or storm water in compliance with applicable county ordinances and state guidelines; Reuse of gray water in compliance with O.C.G.A. § 31-3-5.2 and applicable local board of health regulations; Use of reclaimed waste water by a designated user from a system permitted by the ---PAGE BREAK--- PART II - CODE OF ORDINANCES Chapter 86 - WATER AND SEWERS ARTICLE III. - WATER CONSERVATION Columbia County, Georgia, Code of Ordinances Page 2 of 6 Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to provide reclaimed waste water; Watering personal food gardens; Watering 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; (10) Watering horticultural crops held for sale, resale, or installation; (11) Watering athletic fields, golf courses, or public turf grass recreational areas; (12) Installation, maintenance, or calibration of irrigation systems; or (13) Hydroseeding. Enforcement. No person shall use or allow the use of water in violation of the restrictions on outdoor water use contained in this section. The county shall be the enforcement authority for this section. The county administrator may also authorize other departments as may be deemed necessary to support enforcement. Criminal and alternative penalties. Any violation of this section may also be enforced by a citation or accusation returnable to the magistrate court or by any other legal means as set forth in this Code. Repealer. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this section are repealed to the extent necessary to eliminate the conflict. Severability. The sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this section are severable. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this section be rendered invalid by any court of law, the remaining sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases shall not be affected but shall continue in effect until amended or repealed by action of the governing authority of the county. Effective date. This section shall go into effect on January 1, 2011. (Ord. No. 05-02, § 2, 3-15-2005; Ord. No. 10-11, 12-14-2010) Sec. 86-88. - Outdoor water use schedule during declared drought response levels. The Director of the Environmental Protection Division of the State of Georgia and/or board of commissioners are each authorized to make drought declarations and establish drought response levels. ---PAGE BREAK--- PART II - CODE OF ORDINANCES Chapter 86 - WATER AND SEWERS ARTICLE III. - WATER CONSERVATION Columbia County, Georgia, Code of Ordinances Page 3 of 6 During declared drought conditions, outdoor water use other than activities exempted in section 86-89, shall occur only during scheduled hours on the scheduled days. Declared drought response level one—Outdoor water use may occur on scheduled days between the hours of 12:00 midnight to 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight. Scheduled days for odd-numbered addresses are Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Scheduled days for even-numbered or unnumbered addresses and golf fairways are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Use of hydrants for any purpose other than firefighting, public health, safety or flushing is prohibited. Declared drought response level two—Outdoor water use may occur on scheduled days between the hours of 12:00 midnight to 10:00 a.m. Scheduled days for odd-numbered addresses are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Scheduled days for even-numbered or unnumbered addresses and golf course fairways are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The following activities are prohibited: a. Using hydrants for any purpose other than firefighting, public health, safety or flushing. b. Washing hard surfaces, such as streets, gutters, sidewalks and driveways except when necessary for public health and safety. Declared drought response level three—Outdoor water use may occur on the scheduled day between the hours of 12:00 midnight to 10:00 a.m. The scheduled day for odd numbered addresses is Sunday. The scheduled day for even-numbered or unnumbered addresses and golf course fairways is Saturday. The following activities are prohibited: a. Using hydrants for any purpose other than firefighting, public health safety and flushing. b. Washing hard surfaces, such as streets, gutters, sidewalks and driveways except when necessary for public health and safety. c. Filling installed swimming pools except when necessary for health care or structural integrity. d. Washing vehicles, such as cars, boats, trailers, motorbikes, airplanes and golf carts. e. Washing building or structures except for immediate fire protection. f. Non-commercial fund-raisers, including car washes. ---PAGE BREAK--- PART II - CODE OF ORDINANCES Chapter 86 - WATER AND SEWERS ARTICLE III. - WATER CONSERVATION Columbia County, Georgia, Code of Ordinances Page 4 of 6 g. Using water for ornamental purposes, such as fountains, reflecting pools and waterfalls except when necessary to support aquatic life. Declared drought response level four—No outdoor water use is allowed, other than for activities exempted in section 86-89 (Ord. No. 05-02, § 2, 3-15-2005) Sec. 86-89. - Exemptions. The following established landscape water uses are exempt from the outdoor water use schedules of this article. Established landscapes using small capacity wells not requiring a water withdrawal permit for groundwater use from the Environmental Protection Division of the State of Georgia. Use of recycled treated wastewater. Irrigation of personal food gardens. Newly (in place less than 30 days) installed landscapes are subject to the following regulations. Irrigation of newly installed landscapes is allowed any day of the week, but only during allowed hours provided in the drought response level in effect, and for a period of 30 days following installation except that no watering is allowed during drought response level four. For new landscapes installed by licensed professionals, the commercial exemptions as set forth in subsection hereof apply. The following golf course outdoor water uses are exempt from the outdoor water use schedules established by this article. Golf courses using small capacity wells not requiring a water withdrawal permit for groundwater use from the Environmental Protection Division of the State of Georgia. Use of recycled treated wastewater. The following commercial outdoor water uses are exempt from the outdoor water use schedules of this article. Professional landscapers licensed by the county, golf course contractors, and sports turf landscapers during installation and for a period of 30 days following installation of landscape materials. Irrigation contractors during installation of system and as needed for proper maintenance and adjustments only. Sod producers. Ornamental growers. Fruit and vegetable growers. ---PAGE BREAK--- PART II - CODE OF ORDINANCES Chapter 86 - WATER AND SEWERS ARTICLE III. - WATER CONSERVATION Columbia County, Georgia, Code of Ordinances Page 5 of 6 Retail garden centers. Hydro-seeding. Power-washing. Construction sites. (10) Producers of food and fiber. (11) Car washes. (12) Other activities essential to daily business, subject to the approval of the county. (Ord. No. 05-02, § 2, 3-15-2005) Sec. 86-90. - County regulation. The county as a local water provider may from time to time implement additional outdoor water use restrictions, including but not limited to, the following: developing system integration and interconnection to reduce drought vulnerability, placing additional water use restrictions on specific commercial uses, determining eligibility for an exemption as set forth in section 86-89, and placing additional restrictions on outdoor watering. (Ord. No. 05-02, § 2, 3-15-2005) Sec. 86-91. - Permit to fill swimming pools. While a water conservation plan is in effect, no person shall fill a swimming pool exceeding a capacity of 200 gallons with water supplied by the county's water system without first obtaining a permit from the county water and sewerage services division. (Ord. No. 00-3, § 2(2-7-22), 6-20-2000; Ord. No. 05-02, § 3, 3-15-2005) Sec. 86-92. - Permit to fill tank or tank truck. While a water conservation plan is in effect, no person shall fill a tank or tank truck exceeding a capacity of 200 gallons with water supplied by the county water system without first obtaining a permit from the county water and sewerage services division. (Ord. No. 00-3, § 2(2-7-23), 6-20-2000; Ord. No. 05-02, § 3, 3-15-2005) Sec. 86-93. - Violation; penalties. Upon a violation of the provisions of this article, the county water and sewer services division is authorized to disconnect the water supply at the meter through which the water supply being used in violation of this article is flowing. The water shall remain disconnected until the customer has paid a disconnection fee and/or a reconnection fee in the same amount as provided by county policy for a disconnection and reconnection of water service for a delinquent account which is set forth in the schedule of fees and charges on file in the office of the county clerk. (Ord. No. 00-3, § 6(2-7-25), 6-20-2000; Ord. No. 05-02, § 3, 3-15-2005) ---PAGE BREAK--- PART II - CODE OF ORDINANCES Chapter 86 - WATER AND SEWERS ARTICLE III. - WATER CONSERVATION Columbia County, Georgia, Code of Ordinances Page 6 of 6 Secs. 86-94—86-120. - Reserved.