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

Sec. 75-102 governs outdoor watering for county water customers and any water system permitted by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division under Sec. 75-101. Subsection (a)(1) allows daily irrigation "for purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants only between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m." Outside that carve-out, subsection (b) limits general outdoor watering to three days a week by address: odd-numbered addresses on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and even-numbered addresses on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. A list of exemptions in subsection (a)(2), such as drip irrigation, handwatering with an automatic cutoff hose, personal food gardens, new plantings during their first 30 days, and use of private wells or reclaimed wastewater, is unaffected by either schedule.

When the Georgia EPD director declares a drought, Sec. 75-103 layers on four escalating response levels: level one keeps the odd/even schedule but confines it to overnight hours; level two limits watering to the pre-10:00 a.m. window and bans hydrant use and hard-surface washing; level three cuts each address group to a single scheduled day and adds bans on pool filling, vehicle washing, and ornamental fountains; and level four halts outdoor watering altogether except for activities the state separately exempts. Golf course fairways follow the even-address schedule during levels two and three.