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State eases restrictions on water use
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The state’s recent decision to declare the two-year drought over and relax water use restrictions was welcomed in Dawson County.

  

“We appreciate our residential and business customers for conserving water and helping us get through this drought,” said Brooke Anderson, general manager of Etowah Water and Sewer Authority, which serves the county.

  

“We look forward to serving needs of our customers in non-drought times as well.”

  

Under the current nondrought water schedule, outdoor watering is allowed three days a week on assigned days based on addresses.

  

Odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Even-numbered and unnumbered addresses are allowed to water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

  

Outdoor watering may occur at any time of day on the assigned days, though it is discouraged between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. due to limited effectiveness.

  

“During the heat of the day most water evaporates, so landscape and grass watering would not be as effective as it would later in the day,” Anderson said.

  

The water restrictions changed June 10 when the director of Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division lifted the stringent outdoor watering rules that had been in place since June 2006.

  

“My decision to ease outdoor watering restrictions should not be seen as a license to waste water, but as a vote of confidence in Georgians ability to conserve and use water efficiently,” said Carol Couch, state EPD director.

  

The water use schedules will be tightened should water supplies drop and drought return.

  

Gov. Sonny Perdue encouraged residents not to return to their old ways.

  

“We have become more educated about water conservation, and have taken significant steps towards ensuring a long-term solution,” he said.