Spalding County, GA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)
Water restrictions in Spalding County, GA, also called the watering schedule, outdoor irrigation rules, or drought ordinance, set which days and hours you can run sprinklers or irrigation.
Key Facts
- Restricted hours
- Watering banned 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. daily
- Governing section
- Code § 5-2002(a), Water Supply and Distribution chapter
- Exempt methods
- Drip/soaker irrigation, auto-cutoff hand watering, food gardens
- New-landscape grace period
- 30 days after installing new/replanted turf or plants
- Penalty
- Fine/imprisonment under §1-1007; each day a separate offense
Summary
Outdoor irrigation in unincorporated Spalding County is restricted to the hours between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. under Code § 5-2002(a), covering lawns, trees, shrubs and ground cover. Drip irrigation, soaker hoses, hand watering with an automatic shutoff, and personal food gardens are exempt from the time window, and violating the restriction is a separate offense each day it continues.
(a)Outdoor watering for purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs or other plants in the unincorporated area may occur only between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m.; provided, however, that this limitation shall not create any limitation upon the following outdoor water uses: ... (7)Drip irrigation or irrigation using soaker hoses;(8)Hand watering with a hose with an automatic cutoff or handheld container; ... (b)(1)Any person who shall do anything prohibited by this section as it now exists or as it may hereafter be amended, or who shall fail to do anything required by this section as it now exists or as it may hereafter be amended, is hereby declared to be in violation of this article and the regulations of the county ordinances herein set forth.
Full Breakdown
Section 5-2002(a) bans outdoor watering for planting, growing, managing or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs or other plants in the unincorporated area between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., year-round, on top of any additional water emergency the county manager may separately declare under § 5-2001 when supplies run low. Thirteen listed uses are carved out of the time restriction: commercial crop, livestock and poultry production; capture and reuse of cooling-system condensate or stormwater; gray water reuse under O.C.G.A. § 31-3-5.2; reclaimed wastewater from an EPD-permitted system; personal food gardens; newly planted or replanted turf, seed or plants for 30 days after installation; drip or soaker-hose irrigation; hand watering with an automatic cutoff or handheld container; use of water from a private well or surface water on the same property; horticultural crops held for sale; athletic fields, golf courses and public turf recreation areas; irrigation-system installation, maintenance or calibration; and hydroseeding. The chapter is enforced against 'any person' who violates the hours or fails to comply with an emergency declaration issued under § 5-2001.
Violations & Fines
Any violation of the watering-hours restriction, on conviction, is punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or both, up to the maximum Georgia law and Code § 1-1007 allow, and each day the violation continues is a separate offense. The penalty does not excuse the violation or let it continue: the violator must still correct it within the time a court sets, or within a reasonable time if the court sets none, and these remedies are cumulative with any other civil or criminal remedy under Georgia law or county ordinance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What times can I water my lawn in unincorporated Spalding County?
Does hand-watering my flower beds count against the time restriction?
Can I water new sod anytime after installation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Spalding County
How Spalding County compares: Cities with the Strictest Water Restrictions·Compare Spalding County to another location·View the Georgia landscaping rules overview
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