Fayette County, GA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

The Commercial Car Wash Water Recycling Ordinance, Fayette County Code Article IX of Chapter 28, targets water use at conveyor-style commercial car washes, where the vehicle moves through a tunnel on a belt while the driver stays inside or waits outside. Sec. 28-274 limits the ordinance to new conveyor car washes permitted and constructed after November 14, 2019, and to any older conveyor wash that is remodeled after that date using conveyor technology; car washes permitted or built before that date are exempt, and the ordinance never applies to self-service car washes, where customers wash their own vehicles with spray wands, or to in-bay automatic washes, where a stationary vehicle is cleaned by a machine that moves back and forth over it.

Covered facilities must install an operational recycled water system, defined in Sec. 28-273 as a system that captures and reuses water previously used in the wash or rinse cycle, and must capture and recycle a minimum of 50 percent of the water the facility uses (Sec. 28-275(a)). Once installed, the recycling system has to stay in proper working order to the manufacturer's specifications, and the owner must perform inspections at least semi-annually and keep inspection records on-site, available to county officials during normal business hours (Sec. 28-275(b)).