Local leaders urge water conservation amid drought

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — As North Georgia’s drought worsens, DeKalb County officials are encouraging residents to be more water savvy.

County officials ask residents to voluntarily water their lawns and gardens before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. on an odd/even schedule.

Odd-numbered addresses are encouraged to water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Even-numbered and unnumbered homes are asked to water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

As of Thursday morning, 10.6 percent of Georgia is in an extreme drought, up from 9.7 percent last week; 17.9 percent of the state is in a severe drought, the worst in the northern half of the state.

“Here in DeKalb County we are telling all of our citizens to be water-conscious,” DeKalb County’s Interim CEO, Lee May, told Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Katie Walls.

All residents in the state are reminded that sprinklers are illegal to leave on between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., in accordance with the Georgia Water Stewardship Act.

In an email to Walls, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division wrote that it’s “closely monitoring drought conditions statewide. While it is dry in most parts of the state, public water utilities are not reporting major issues with water supply at this time. Georgia is currently under a non-drought outdoor water use schedule, which prohibits most residential outdoor water use from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.”

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for more information and exceptions to the law.

As for what you can do to improve water usage inside, look no further than your toilet.

If you have a toilet that was installed prior to 1993, then you’re eligible for

Cox Media Group