Cherokee County, GA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Amended IPC § 1304.3.2
- Permitting agency
- Environmental Protection Division
- Indoor uses allowed
- Toilets, urinals, water features
- New private-system irrigation
- Golf courses & agriculture only
- Exempt systems
- Existing private or govt-owned plants
Summary
Cherokee County's local amendment to the plumbing code, Section 1304.3.2, lets permitted reclaimed water serve toilets, urinals, and industrial uses in commercial and multifamily buildings, but bars new private reclaimed systems from irrigating anything beyond golf courses and farmland.
1304.3.2 Connections to water supply. Reclaimed water provided from a reclaimed wastewater treatment system permitted by the Environmental Protection Division may be used to supply water closets, urinals, trap primers for floor drains and floor sinks, water features and other uses approved by the Authority Having Jurisdiction, in motels, hotels, apartment and condominium buildings, and commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings, where the individual guest or occupant does not have access to plumbing... The use of reclaimed water sourced from any new private reclaimed wastewater treatment system for outdoor irrigation shall be limited to golf courses and agriculture operations as defined in the Official Code of Georgia Section 1-3-3, and such reclaimed water shall not be approved for use for irrigating any other outdoor landscape such as ground cover, tree, shrubs, or other plants.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 39 | Zoning: Supplement 35).
Full Breakdown
2 of the adopted plumbing code to govern connections to reclaimed water. Reclaimed water from a reclaimed wastewater treatment system permitted by the Environmental Protection Division may supply water closets, urinals, trap primers for floor drains and floor sinks, water features, and other approved uses in motels, hotels, apartment and condominium buildings, and commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings, so long as the individual guest or occupant does not have direct access to that plumbing. The same reclaimed water may also feed water chillers, carwashes, or an industrial process that can tolerate lesser water quality than potable supply.
" That restriction does not reach back to existing private reclaimed water systems already in service, nor to reclaimed wastewater treatment systems that are governmentally owned, whether existing or newly built, which may continue broader irrigation use consistent with their permits.
Violations & Fines
Because this provision is a local amendment folded into the adopted plumbing code, unauthorized reclaimed-water connections or irrigation uses are enforced as a plumbing code violation under Sec. 14-1(e), punishable upon conviction under the general penalty section, Sec. 1-12.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a new apartment complex in Cherokee County flush toilets with reclaimed water?
Can I irrigate my lawn with reclaimed water from a new private treatment plant?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cherokee County
Compare Cherokee County to another location·View the Georgia water use rules overview
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