Since the drought, why do businesses and subdivision entrances run theirs at will? They should apply to these restrictions too.
If you're reading this between 10 a.m. and midnight or on a day you're not supposed to water outdoors, you might want to run outside and turn off the sprinkler.
Columbia County officials say they're checking closely on those who might be violating the state's outdoor watering rules. Anyone caught after a warning will find themselves without water, not only for their grass but also for themselves.
"We've handed out a lot of warnings, and on the second go-around water will be disconnected and there will be fees ... no question about that," said Billy Clayton, the county's waterworks director. He said a $30 fee must be paid to have residential water turned back on.
Since dry conditions began, Mr. Clayton said, his department has handed out about 400 warnings to residents watering improperly.
In Columbia and Richmond counties, outdoor watering is allowed from midnight to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for those with even-numbered addresses and Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays for those at odd-numbered addresses. No watering is allowed Mondays.
Augusta Utilities Director Max Hicks said most of the violations of the state-mandated restrictions are by residents watering after 10 a.m., particularly around sundown.
He said there have been only a few complaints of people watering on the wrong days, other than some businesses and schools. Most of the 32 complaints the city has received in recent weeks have been about violations of watering hours, he said.
When complaints are made, officials call the violators if possible and notify them first, then send them a letter and make a note of the violation on the water bill.
On a second violation, violators are charged $25, and on the third violation, their water is cut off, Mr. Hicks said. Water officials also have an option of issuing a citation to appear in Magistrate Court.
Mr. Clayton said those who don't have sprinkler systems on timers and those who find the watering hours cumbersome can keep their grass in survival mode by watering one day a week.
"Right now, what we should be thinking about is just protecting our investment until we get through this pattern," Mr. Clayton said. "(Watering one day a week) is absolutely the best scenario. Make it stress for the six days, and then, when you water it, water it really good."
Mr. Clayton said Columbia County has seen water demand peak so far at 28 million gallons, "but our average flow is running up in that 20, 22 million gallons a day," he said.
He said the need to conserve in a time of drought is crucial.
"People don't tend to understand a drought as they do a flood," Mr. Clayton said. "It just doesn't dawn on folks that a drought is a weather calamity, and we are in the middle of another drought."
As of Thursday, the Augusta area had received 11.51 inches of rain for the year, which is nearly 7 inches below normal, according to the National Weather Service in West Columbia, S.C. Leonard Vaughan, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said the next best chance for rain won't come until late next week.
He said if no more rain falls this month, May would be the 10th driest on record dating back to 1892.
Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 868-1222, ext. 115, or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.
Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylvia.cooper@augustachronicle.com.
EXEMPTIONS
In Richmond County, residents may apply for a 30-day landscape waiver that allows them to water any day between midnight and 10 a.m. if they have a newly planted lawn. To apply over the phone, call (706) 312-4154 , (706) 842-3050 or (706) 821-1851 .
To apply online, go to www.augustaga.gov/departments/utilities and click on "Exemption Application." A utilities department official will verify your landscape project and issue a permit.
Columbia County residents with new landscaping may file for an exemption by calling (706) 863-6928.
COMPLAINTS
To report violations of watering restrictions in Richmond County, call (706) 312-4154 or Augusta Cares at (706) 821-2300. In Columbia County, call (706) 863-6928 or 311, the customer service and information line.
Comments
Since the drought, why do businesses and subdivision entrances run theirs at will? They should apply to these restrictions too.
I agree. Also, how much watering should I do to keep my grass in survival mode? 20 minutes once a week??? I just don't want to have to re-sod after it finally starts raining again.
Why does the city get to run their sprinklers in the medians downtown during the day??
And the new housing areas of Ft Gordon run them when they want also. Makes no sense.
What a bunch of crap this is! Water is one of our most precious resources and a NEEDED necessity. Without water in a home it posses a health threat. If I pay my bill and on time, who the hell are they to tell me when I can and cannot use MY water. And why do we have to pay for that necessity to begin with? It should be provided by the city in return for the ridiculous property tax bills we all get. I want to know why local government, schools, courthouses, etc... are exempt from the watering bans? It takes a ton of water to cover all those areas and unless they have a "private" well, then the local government etc... should also follow the rules as well! Water shortage? Bah hum bug is what I say! Columbia County seems to be the only ones with this problem. Why? Another reason to have another tax increase. I'm so glad I live in Edgefield!!!
Footnote: There are also a ton of elderly and poor that have a hard enough time as it is paying their bills. Many simply CANNOT afford to pay a 30.00 reconnect fee. Is this a total form of financial rape or what?
Water is a most precious resource and wasting it is an offense to ourselves, nieghbors and to God. Follow the laws people and we will have water to spare in time of need. Violate them and we will not have water in time of need. Is the grass on our lawns so important that we forget that it is a gift of God to have such oppulence as we have in Augusta. To have a lawn and be worried about water is an honor when the great majority of the world some 820 million go with out food daily. Think of how blessed we really are and then follow the law, using God and common sense as guides.
Is it your constitutional right as an American to have a green lawn? Please. There are more important issues to get worked up over.
If the elderly and poor cannot afford to pay a reconnect fee, I doubt they could afford the extra costs of watering a lawn. In the even they can, then they should follow the watering laws and they won't have to worry about it.
pumkinhed has a VERY acurate user name. they sound just like the "the world OWES me" crowd. Look, IDIOT, you don't OWN the water, ok? You are paying for water SERVICE. In case you didn't know, there is a drought going on. And don't even TRY to compare city govt's use of water w/ consumer's use. It doesn't even come CLOSE. The truth is, if you are watering after 10AM in Augusta, over 85% of it EVAPORATES & never gets to the plant. It's EASY: Water early in the morning & after midnite. If your lawn is that important to you, it shouldn't be a problem to follow simple guidelines. If you can afford all the extra water it takes to keep a lawn OVERWATERED (most people water WAY more than what is needed), then you can afford the $30 reconnect fee for not following the rules in a time of drought.
People are complaining about not watering their yards when they want to. What are they going to say when the city has NO WATER at all. If that were to happen which belive it or not it can then every one would be on well water which would cost about 3,000-5,000 per house. Then the demand would be so great we would have to wait in line to get someone to dig the well because they would be so overwhelmed with work that millions would be without water for weeks. But punkinhed or any one else who doesn't like the restriction dig a well and then you won't have to pay for water service and you can use all the water you want until your well dries up and then you can just dig it deeper. See problem solved........
if the city water and sewer runs down your road, don't they require you to use it, so digging a well would allow you to water your grass whenever, but it still won't work for you to have your city water turned off, because they charge a minimum anyways, don't they.
If you're watering your grass from a well, they can't disconnect you from city service. On the other hand, drought is drought. I am not reliant on city water, only a well, which has never run dry in 17 years. Live in the country & am not about to water my "grass", only my garden. permkinhead needs his/her meds.
Just water your yard when you're supposed to and you shouldn't have any problems keeping everything going. Just do it and stop griping about it. If your yard is the biggest thing you have to worry about, I want your life please.
Why is it that home owners are being faced with the possibility of fines and the threat of having their water turned off when you have businesses watering the sidewalks? On Wednesday morning at 6:00 AM I was traveling down Washington Road and "lo and behold" the Lexus dealership has all of their sprinklers nearest to the sidewalk watering the sidewalks. if this is not a waste of a precious resource, I do not know what is. When will these violations be dealt with? Or is the answer, "depends on who you are"?
Was it their day to water lilmace? Maybe they just want a vigorous sidewalk? Maybe they're just STUPID? Me personally, I won't water my sidewalk cause the weeds grow in the cracks...the cement doesn't do squat, won't even bloom. Some people just need a lesson on how to direct their sprinklers.
If we are that short of water, the Columbia County Commission should stop handing out building permits. Atleast until they can catch up with providing water/services to all in the county. It would be nice for once if Columbia County would slow down and realize that there is no real reward for growing so fast.
Scot, I do not live in Richmond or Columbia county, so I do not know if it was there day to water or not. I live about 70 miles south of Augusta and was there for my daughter's surgery. The wet sidewalks grabbed my attention before the sprinklers. I agree sidewalks have little to offer.
I live in Cobb County, Marietta, Georgia. Our watering laws are very similar to yours, and 'others' are not required to follow the same laws as a homeowner, or taxpaying citizen. Our state waters have never been treated as important, until recently. The reasons for the water shortage goes much further than you watering your lawn. Common math, and common sense are some of the reasons that needs to be looked at. Where does the water come from? Where is the mixture, which leaves your home piped to? Ground water is at the 'root' of the problem, when wells were the normal household source of drinking water, the septic tank and soil cleaned the water, and returned it back to the ground water table. Modern day advances use the groundwater, and dump the treated return to the Savannah River, or other downstream water body. The result of this cycle being lost, breaks the cycle of natural water replenishment. Grass or turf helps to cleans the air and cool it also. Greywater, an EPA effort to water your lawn safely, is frowned upon by local officials in the South. See what California is doing to to keep a lawn, and other related activities. Check out EPA/water on the internet. ptacdr@msn.com
A big problem for me is the fact that you can go to a carwash and use water all day long if you wanted to. I try and save water all the time by using devices that limit the water when its used. But it just seems dumb to me carwashes are not restricted in anyway. I just prefer washing my vehicles myself and saving that money you would spend at a car wash for this overpriced gas we have to buy.
scot you are so right... I swear I want to go ask the isiot homowners who make it so you have to roll your window up or wait til the whole street is clear so you can pass because they are watering half the street if they need glasses and can't tell the difference between asphault and grass or are the just inconsiderate jerks!!! lol
cnov a car wash owner makes his living that way. You cannot stop a business from using the water it needs to operate. Some times people need a car wash!! Under your theory, why don't restaraunts start using paper plates through the summer so they don't have to wash so many dishes? I'm sure you would love to go out for a nice $100 dinner at red lobster and eat off paper plates. You can't stop people from using what they need. The problem is people who waste, like running your sprinkler watering the concrete or leaving it run all day just for it to evaporate!! They are not wanting peopl to suffer and not use water just be conservative.
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