Georgia encourages rainwater harvesting. Under the state Water Stewardship Act, capturing and reusing rainwater and stormwater is allowed any day at any time, even during watering restrictions. Chatham County and Savannah set no ban on residential rain barrels.
The Georgia Water Stewardship Act (O.C.G.A. § 12-5-7) expressly exempts captured water from the 4 p.m.–10 a.m. schedule: reuse of collected rainwater, stormwater, and cooling-system condensate is permitted daily at any time, in compliance with local ordinances and state guidelines. Rain barrels and cisterns for irrigating gardens and landscaping are encouraged as a conservation measure and are unrestricted for typical residential use. Neither Chatham County nor the City of Savannah imposes a special permit for household rain barrels, though large cisterns tied into plumbing may trigger plumbing-code backflow protection. Harvested water should be used for outdoor irrigation, not drinking, without proper treatment.
No penalty for ordinary residential rainwater harvesting. Improper cross-connection of a large cistern to potable plumbing can trigger plumbing-code enforcement and required backflow prevention.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Chatham County, GA
Chatham County has no standalone hoarding statute, but it curbs hoarding through hard numeric pet limits (8 cats, 6 dogs per acre) and its cruelty/neglect pr...
Chatham County, GA
Chatham County's animal-control chapter sets no specific wildlife-feeding ban. Wild, game, and protected species are handled by the Georgia Department of Nat...
Chatham County, GA
Chatham County's curfew ordinance (Sec. 11-122) makes it unlawful for minors 16 or younger to be unsupervised in parks, playgrounds, and other public places ...
Chatham County, GA
Chatham County has no general light-trespass ordinance; spillover from a neighbor's lights is handled through zoning standards or nuisance law. On Tybee Isla...
Chatham County, GA
Chatham County has no countywide dark-sky ordinance, but Tybee Island enforces a sea-turtle lighting rule (Land Development Code Sec. 3-230). From May 1 to O...
Chatham County, GA
Garage-sale signs are temporary signs regulated by the NewZO sign standards (Sec. 9.9). Small temporary signs are addressed in Sec. 9.9.10 (signs allowed wit...
See how Chatham County's rainwater harvesting rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.