Georgia Garden Centers Getting Hosed Over Watering Restrictions

With nearly half of Georgia, including metro Atlanta, in an extreme drought, watering restrictions — and their exemptions — are becoming a hot topic.

But it's the lack of awareness of how the rules really work, especially when it comes to new landscaping, that has that industry sizzling, says Mary Kay Woodworth, executive director of the 600-member Metro Atlanta Landscape and Turf Association.
 
She says members report that some homeowners' associations are urging residents to avoid installing new landscaping because they won't be allowed to water the new plants. And many would-be vegetable gardeners are skipping this planting season because they fear their gardens will wither without water.

But under the statewide rules, new landscaping installed by a professional may be watered daily for 30 days after installation, and food gardens can be watered any time.

Because most consumers are unaware of that, Woodworth says, they're canceling, or delaying, landscape jobs and in some cases buying less sod and fewer plants. Fall and spring are generally considered the best times for landscaping.

Granted, says Woodworth, dry conditions are not ideal for new landscaping, especially heading into hot weather.

"But the message we're trying to get out is that, while yes, we all need to conserve water, you can still do that and have a new yard if you just water properly and efficiently," she says.

That message can't get out quickly enough for Ken Morrow of Sod Atlanta.

"We've got a real mess on our hands," he says. "There's been a huge drop in our business."

Sod orders are being canceled, phone inquiries are down, and landscape contractors report that homeowners are delaying new lawns, says Morrow, who predicts layoffs among seasonal landscape crews next.

Morrow attributes his decline in business to confusion over the watering restrictions, in some cases, he says, spurred by neighborhood associations. "They're telling people not to install any plants or turf," he says, "when usually they're encouraging people to keep up their landscapes. Even the state of Georgia hasn't gone that far."

At Habersham Gardens, the drought usually doesn't affect business until watering restrictions make headlines, says Steve Nichols, its marketing manager. "Last summer, when the restrictions got tighter, it was almost as if someone closed the gates to the garden center," he says. "People just stopped coming in."

He said recently a customer came in who assumed that, if the water came out of her garden hose and not out of her sprinkler, she was exempt from Atlanta's outdoor water restrictions.

"That's just how much misinformation there is out there about the rules," he says. "The confusion over the restrictions does cost us sales in the long run because the perception among customers is if they buy something, they can't water it."

The Cheshire Bridge Road-area garden center tries to counteract that notion by educating customers through its Web site and newsletter about the restrictions, the proper way to water and the advantage of purchasing drought-tolerant plants.

Among his landscaping clients, Nichols says, is a growing wariness about being cited for violating the restrictions. 'What they're afraid of is, if they start a job now and water it, they'll upset their neighbors," he says, citing Roswell residents who are encouraged to call police to report someone breaking the watering rules after hours or on weekends.

Like some companies, Simply Flowers is going so far as to provide homeowners with documents indicating when the landscaping was installed and citing the 30-day exemption — as proof to any water police that may not be up on the law.

"This is about protecting ourselves as much as our customers," says Jenny Hardgrave, owner of the Tucker-based firm. "This drought is really starting to impact our industry."

Know the Rules

Georgia is under a Level 2 outdoor water-use schedule (Level 1 is the least restrictive and 4 the most). Its rules and exemptions include:

• Outdoor water use, including watering lawns and washing cars, is restricted to midnight to 10 a.m. on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for homes and businesses at odd-numbered addresses and to those hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at even-numbered ones.
• Local jurisdictions may impose tighter restrictions. In Atlanta, Sandy Springs and south Fulton County, residents and businesses may water only on weekends. Even-numbered addresses may water only between midnight and 10 a.m. on Saturdays, odd-numbered addresses during those hours on Sunday. In Forsyth County, even-numbered addresses may water from midnight to 10 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, odds during those hours on Sundays and Tuesdays.
• Newly installed landscaping by landscape professionals may be watered by the homeowner or the professional on any day and at any hour during installation and for up to 30 days afterward. Thereafter, residents are subject to state and local restrictions.
• Newly installed landscaping by a homeowner may be watered on any day and at any hour during installation and for up to 30 days afterward but only between midnight and 10 a.m. Thereafter, residents are subject to state and local restrictions.
• Commercial uses of water, such as fruit and vegetable growers, retail garden centers, power washers, construction sites and car washes, are exempt.

Source: Georgia Environmental Protection Division

More information: www.maltalandscape.com