Clayton County, GA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Sec. 98-51 sets a flat, always-on restriction rather than a drought-triggered one: "Outdoor watering for purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants in the county may occur only between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m." That leaves a ten-hour daytime window, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., off-limits for ordinary landscape watering across unincorporated Clayton County, with no seasonal exception written into the section.

The section then lists thirteen carve-outs, lettered (a) through (m), that fall outside the restriction entirely. They include commercial agriculture and livestock operations; capturing and reusing cooling-system condensate or stormwater; reuse of gray water under O.C.G.A. § 31-3-5.2 and Sec. 50-2(d); use of reclaimed wastewater from an EPD-permitted system; watering personal food gardens; a 30-day watering allowance for newly installed plants, seed or turf; drip irrigation and soaker hoses; hand watering with an automatic shutoff nozzle or handheld container; water drawn from a private well or on-site surface water; watering horticultural crops held for sale; watering athletic fields, golf courses and public turf recreation areas; irrigation system installation, maintenance or calibration; and hydroseeding.

Sec. 98-52 supplies the enforcement mechanism, borrowing the definitions of "violator" and "enforcement officers" from Sec. 98-34. Code enforcement personnel, CCWA staff authorized by the general manager, and county law enforcement officers may all issue warnings and citations. A first violation during a restriction period draws a written warning; any repeat, including failing to comply promptly with that warning, draws a citation. Fines run up to $500.00 or up to six months' imprisonment in the county magistrate court, and CCWA may also terminate water service to a noncompliant account. Sec. 98-52(f) confirms this article does not override the separate emergency measures in Article III, "Emergency Water Conservation Procedures," which can impose additional restrictions during a declared water conservation period.