RE: Level 1 Drought Response Declaration
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has been monitoring climatic indicators and water supply conditions to assess drought and severity, as directed by the Drought Management Rule adopted in June 2015. The entire state is under various classifications of drought conditions, including D4 (Exceptional Drought) and D3 (Extreme Drought) conditions affecting the majority of the state’s territory (US Drought Monitor Map for Georgia). As EPD Director, because of these drought conditions, I am declaring a State-wide Level 1 Drought Response for public water systems that use surface water and/or groundwater. A Level 1 Drought Response requires that public water systems implement a public information campaign that shall include, at a minimum, public notice regarding drought conditions and drought-specific public service messages in one or more of the following ways: newspaper advertisements, bill inserts, website homepage, social media, and notices in public libraries. A Level 1 Drought Response public information campaign should target all commercial and residential water use, not just outdoor watering; and emphasize what customers should to be good stewards of our water resources. It should not focus on what they cannot do. Examples of things to emphasize include:
• Regularly check for, and repair, leaks inside and outside your home.
• Don’t leave the tap running. When shaving, brushing your teeth, washing your face, or food, turn off the tap.
• Only water your landscape when necessary and adjust sprinklers so only your lawn is watered and not the house, sidewalk or street.
As a reminder, under a Drought Response Level 1, general landscape watering may be done between 4pm and 10 am each day, and the following activities may be done at any time of day:
• Irrigation of personal food gardens may be done at any time of day;
• Irrigation of new and replanted plant, seed, or turf may be done at any time of day for 30 days after installation;
• Drip irrigation or irrigation using soaker hoses may be done at any time of day; and
• Hand-watering with a hose with automatic cutoff or handheld container may be done at any time of day.
More water conservation information is available at https://epd.georgia.gov/watershed-protection-branch/water-conservation. 2 Within five days of receipt of this notice of a drought response level declaration, you shall implement this drought response strategy. For more information, the Rules for Drought Management are available at http://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/391-3-30. Also, a public report on current climatic and hydrologic indicators, prepared pursuant to the rule, is available at https://epd.georgia.gov/watershed-protection-branch/drought-management. If you have any further questions, please contact Johmar Haye at johmar.haye1@dnr.ga.gov, Wei Zeng at wei.zeng@dnr.ga.gov, or Jennifer Welte at jennifer.welte@dnr.ga.gov.
Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey W. Cown Director Environmental Protection Division