Georgia EPD Director Carol Couch declared on June 10, 2009, that the state of Georgia has returned to a non-drought condition. According to the state's rules, outdoor water use is allowed on the even-odd schedule with no restrictions as to hours of use. This means that homeowners with even-numbered addresses can water on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and those with odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Gwinnett County will follow the state's rule.

Gwinnett Commission Chairman Bannister said, "I want to thank Gwinnett County's residents and business owners for pitching in during the drought. Gwinnett water customers used 17 percent less water in 2008 than they did in 2007, saving more than five billion gallons of water. The lesson to be learned from the dry years is that we can't take our precious water supply for granted. And that's why we will continue to urge water conservation."

Gwinnett water customers are encouraged to observe the practice of watering landscapes outside the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., which minimizes the evaporation of the water. Lawns only need one inch of water per week to remain healthy. This amount may be provided by rain or by other means. For more information, please refer to the Department of Water Resources website, www.gwinnetth20.com, or call 678.376.7100.

Transporting reuse water: Customers can now truck reclaimed water for uses such as street sweeping, dust control, sewer cleaning, landscape irrigation, professional chemical/pesticide application, and concrete batch plants. The reclaimed water comes from the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center in Buford. Find out how you can start transporting reclaimed water for your business.

Toilet rebates: Thanks to a measure approved by the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners, Gwinnett water customers can get rebates of either $50 or $100 for replacing the toilet/toilets in their single family residential home, depending on whether the replacement toilet is 1.6 gallons per flush or 1.28 gallons per flush.

Our water source: Gwinnett County water comes from Lake Lanier, which is currently well below its full pool level due to drought conditions and water releases required for downstream users. View a five-week forecast for Lake Lanier.

Returning water to the lake: Gwinnett County has permission to return highly treated wastewater to the bottom of Lake Lanier. The county plans to return millions of gallons a day back to the lake from the F. Wayne Hill treatment plant. The pipeline is now under construction. Read a news release or watch a news story about this plan.