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

Fayette County Water System enforces two layers of outdoor watering rules under Code of Fayette County Chapter 28, Article III. Sec. 28-77 sets a year-round baseline: outdoor irrigation of ground cover, trees, shrubs and grass is limited to before 10:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m., with listed exceptions for drip irrigation, hand watering with an automatic shutoff, newly installed landscaping for its first 30 days, agricultural operations and a handful of other uses. Water wasting, such as running an irrigation system with visible leaks, broken heads or in a way that lets water pool on pavement, is banned at all times regardless of drought status.

When the Georgia EPD director declares a drought response level for the county's water supply, additional restrictions layer on top of those hours. Under Drought Response Level 2 (Sec. 28-80(1)), outdoor irrigation drops to two days a week on an odd-even address schedule: customers with even-numbered addresses may water Wednesday and Saturday, and customers with odd-numbered addresses may water Thursday and Sunday, still only outside the 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. window. Level 2 also bars washing hard surfaces, ornamental fountains and non-commercial vehicle washing, and requires pool covers on private and public pools when not in use. Level 3 escalates to an outdoor irrigation ban, subject to narrower exceptions for food gardens, athletic fields and golf greens.

Fayette County Water System is the enforcement authority (Sec. 28-85(a)) and may bring in other county departments to help. Customers claiming an exception, such as new sod or a private well, must register the exception with the Water System and are given a 30-day grace period from the start of a declared drought level to do so (Sec. 28-83, 28-84).