Smyrna, GA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Section 102-14 of the Smyrna Code, adopted as Ord. No. 2010-14 on 12-20-10 and effective January 1, 2011, sets a time-of-day window instead of a watering-day schedule. Outdoor watering for planting, growing, managing or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs or other plants within the water boundaries of Smyrna can occur only between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. The section prints no odd-even or weekday rotation.

The window does not limit the uses listed in subsection (a)(1) through (13). Among them: commercial raising and harvesting of crops and livestock; capture and reuse of cooling system condensate or stormwater; reuse of gray water in compliance with O.C.G.A. § 31-3-5.2; reclaimed waste water from a system permitted by the state environmental protection division; personal food gardens; new and replanted plant, seed or turf during installation and for 30 days after; drip irrigation using soaker hoses; hand watering with a hose with automatic cutoff or a handheld container; water from private wells or surface water on the owner's property; watering athletic fields, golf courses or public turf grass recreational areas; installation, maintenance or calibration of irrigation systems; and hydroseeding.

Enforcement is in subsection (b). No person can use or allow the use of water in violation of the section. The City of Smyrna is the enforcement authority, and the city administrator can authorize other departments to support enforcement. A violation can be enforced by a citation or accusation returnable to the municipal court, and a person can be fined up to the maximum amount of fines allowed in the municipal court as provided by Sec. 1-8.

Other layers sit beside it. Under Sec. 102-13, when drought or a threatened supply through the Cobb-Marietta Water Authority or another provider leads the Mayor and Council to declare an emergency status at a regular council meeting, the public works department reduces the hours, times and terms of outdoor water use, effective immediately upon posting notice at city hall. Sec. 102-16 regulates rain sensor shut-off switches on landscape irrigation systems, with a fine not exceeding $100.00 per violation, and Sec. 102-17 targets water waste such as excessive runoff.