Water Conservation

Pure Water: Our greatest resource. Use it wisely

As a service to our customers both residential and commercial, we provide water use audits at no charge. To schedule an audit, please call 770-460-4665.

Drought Response Levels

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division has lowered its statewide Drought Response Level to 1.

A Level 1 Drought Response requires permitted public water systems to conduct a public information campaign to explain drought conditions and the need to conserve water. This decision cancels the Level 2 Drought Response watering schedule that limited landscape watering to two days per week based on odd-even address numbers. It also prohibited other types of water use including non-commercial vehicle washing and pressure washing.

In addition, a Level 1 Drought Response has been lifted in the following Georgia counties: Athens-Clarke, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton, Dawson, Elbert, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Gordon, Greene, Haralson, Harris, Hart, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Lamar, Madison, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Pickens, Pike, Putnam, Rockdale, Spalding, Stephens, Talbot, Taliaferro, Troup, Upson, Walton and Wilkes counties.

Georgians must still follow the non-drought outdoor water use schedule required in the Water Stewardship Act of 2010. This law allows all types of outdoor water use, but landscape watering only before 10 am and after 4 pm daily. This is done to limit evaporation during the warmest part of the day.

More information about water conservation and drought

The Importance of Water Conservation

Although almost 80% of Earth is covered with water, only 3% of the planet's water resources represent freshwater. Less than 1% of all water is available for human consumption; the rest is salty ocean water, or freshwater that is bound up in glaciers and polar ice caps. Of the water available to humans, animals, and plants, only a tiny fraction is used as drinking water. Most of what is consumed is used to create electricity, grow crops, run factories, and for household and sanitation needs.

Global water consumption rose almost tenfold in the last century, and many parts of the world are now reaching the limits of their supply. Populations continue to increase while water supplies dwindle. To highlight this growing problem, the United Nations (UN) declared 2003 to be The International Year of Freshwater. According to the UN, if current trends continue, "2 out of every 3 people on earth will suffer moderate to severe water shortages in little more than 2 decades from now. Globally, 1 in 6 people still have no regular access to safe drinking water, and more than twice that number (2.4 billion people) lack access to adequate sanitation facilities."

Local Problems

The problem is local as well as global. In the South, drought combined with depleted stores of groundwater and burgeoning growing populations are putting unprecedented strains on the water supply. Water is in demand for a myriad of uses: recreational, mining and industry, fishing, irrigation, and riparian habitat preservation, among others. In the U.S., almost 100 gallons per day of drinking water are used per capita.

Effects of Excessive Use of Water

Excessive use of water has the following adverse effects on our society, economy, and environment:

  • More dams must be built, destroying wilderness areas and reducing stream flow.
  • The water infrastructure requires increased maintenance for pipes, sewers, and treatment facilities.
  • Agricultural uses can contribute to erosion, salinity and increased desertification.
  • Water bodies such as rivers, wetlands, and bays are degraded from the high levels of water extracted and from the polluted runoff that feeds into them.

Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District Launches New Website

The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District has started a new campaign to help in Georgia's effort to conserve water for our future generations. The new campaign, called "I'm In," helps homeowners businesses and local government organizations track how well we are doing in conserving water. Please visit their website to see how you can participate in helping to ensure our water resources.

What You Can Do to Help

Water Saver Kits

ShowerheadWas your home built prior to 1993? Would you like to know how you can save money on your water bill without spending a dime?

The City is offering a Water Saver Kit free of charge at City Hall. This Water Saver Kit is designed to help you as a homeowner save water, energy and money. Included in the kit is a kitchen aerator, a low flow faucet aerator, a flow meter bag, and complete instructions for retrofitting. To qualify for a kit you must go to City Hall and have identification matching the location of the address that you are getting the kit for. We only have a limited supply of kits available for our customers and it is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Residential Toilet Rebate Program

To encourage customers to replace older, inefficient toilets, the City of Fayetteville is participating in the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District Residential Toilet Rebate Program. Rebates are limited and will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis.

View rebate information and find out if you are eligible at the North Georgia Water website, where you can also download applications.

Water Audits

Commercial

The City of Fayetteville offers commercial water audits for our customers, free of charge. A commercial water audit consists of a site visit to your facility, where information is gathered, then taken back to our facility to process. Once the information is processed, any water-saving ideas will be shared with the facility. If you are interested in scheduling an audit, feel free to call 770-460-4258.

Residential

The City of Fayetteville offers the Do It Yourself Household Water Assessment for download to our customers. Inside the document, you will find valuable information about how to assess your household water use and help in determining the best approach for water conservation.