From Council Member Kevin Hudson:

Until last week, the city banned nearly all outdoor watering, prohibiting any watering of existing lawns and flower gardens. The city had to lighten the rules Monday, after Gov. Perdue signed House Bill 1281, making it illegal for any local government to impose tighter — or looser — restrictions than the state without permission.

Here are the new rules for us:

• No sprinklers. Use a hand-held garden hose with an automatic shut-off only (trigger nozzle that turns off when released). Only one hose at a time.

• Water three days a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays for houses with odd-numbered addresses and Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays for houses with even-numbered addresses.

• Water between midnight and 10 a.m.

• Water for 25 minutes only.

• More liberal rules for new landscaping allow sprinklers for ten weeks after planting new grass, shrubs, trees and flowers, on the three-day schedule and limited hours.

• To use the more lenient rules for sprinklers on new landscaping, homeowners must be certified through an on-line course given by the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council at www.urbanagcouncil.com. Certification is also available from each county's extension agent. (No certification is needed for the 25-minute watering above.)

www.urbanagcouncil.com