(Lawrenceville, Ga., June 1, 2010) - Gwinnett officials say the water-conservation legislation that Gov. Perdue signed into law on the shore of Lake Lanier on Tuesday, June 1 will have a positive impact on Gwinnett County operations and policies.

The new law requires public water systems in Georgia to conduct standardized leak tests and publish the results annually starting in 2012. "This gives water utilities a way to compare and benchmark their systems in terms of water loss and average water pressure," said Lynn Smarr of Gwinnett's Department of Water Resources. "We're glad that all water utilities statewide will be measuring the integrity of their systems by a standard method." The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is likely to adopt standards developed by the International Water Association/American Water Works Association.

Year-round, statewide restrictions on outdoor water use regardless of drought are also a part of the new law that resulted from the Governor's Water Contingency Task Force. Perdue created the advisory group in 2009 in response to U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson's adverse ruling on allowable uses of Lake Lanier water. Local governments will now be able to seek state approval for outdoor water-use restrictions that are more stringent than state law.

Money for leak detection and repairs has been included in Water Resources' annual budget for more than decade. The County has spent more than $23 million since 2002 to replace leaking water mains usually caused by inferior materials installed many years ago. Another $39 million is in the capital budget to continue that effort over the next five years.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Charles Bannister said, "I'm pleased that our water system is well above national standards for operation and maintenance. Once again, we're ahead of the curve."

Deputy Director of Operations Tyler Richards said Water Resources has about 50 employees on 14 crews dedicated to finding and fixing leaks in the water system. Residents should report leaks to the department's 24-hour hotline at 678.376.7000.