COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A heat wave that has brought two weeks of 90 degree temperatures to Georgia has caused a spike in water usage, according to officials in several metro counties.
Channel 2's Diana Davis found widespread confusion about new outdoor watering rules passed last summer.
"My understanding, it's even/odd so depending on your house number" Cobb County resident Lee Ann Smallman told Davis.
However, the old watering schedule that allowed watering every other day was replaced last June when Gov. Sonny Perdue signed the Georgia Water Stewardship Act.
READ: Georgia Statewide Watering Restrictions PDF: Cobb County Water Guideline Flier
The law allows for watering every day, but only between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. Still, Davis found sprinklers running across metro Atlanta.
"Ninety percent of it is evaporating or being lost to wind drift. Let's just face it. We have Georgia red clay here. It's about as permeable as this pavement in the heat of the day, so the water is just rolling off. It's just a waste." said Kathy Nguyen with the Cobb County Water System.
The new water restrictions allow for soaker hoses and nozzle sprayers at any time and any day, but Nguyen said it's not the best strategy.
On very hot days, grass and plants are only getting about 10 percent of the water distributed, according to Nguyen. She suggests paying close attention to your trees as well.
"Trees are very, very vulnerable to dry weather and most people look at their tree and say, 'It's fine. It's green.' If your roots have changed their pattern at all, if they are lifted, if they're buckled, if they are twisted, that means your tree isn't getting any water" Nguyen added.
WSBTV
