Houston County, GA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 42-3 of Chapter 42, "Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions," addresses the county-owned Houston County Public Boat Landing, located at Georgia Highway 96 and the Ocmulgee River. It makes it "unlawful for any person" on that property to consume any alcoholic beverage, discharge a firearm, camp or stay overnight, build or maintain an open fire, or swim in the river. This is the only ordinance in the county's general code that directly prohibits consuming alcohol on specific public property; the code's broader alcoholic-beverage chapter (Chapter 6) instead regulates licensed retailers and establishments, hours of sale, age restrictions, and BYOB "brown bagging" at commercial premises, rather than personal consumption in county parks or on county streets generally.

That means Houston County has no separate general open-container ordinance banning public drinking countywide; the boat landing rule stands on its own as a use restriction for that particular county-owned recreation site. 00 plus 60 days in jail for a third offense, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense.