Overview
- The EPD declaration, which took effect Monday, directs every public water system to run drought and conservation campaigns.
- Outdoor watering hours remain 4 p.m. to 10 a.m., and local utilities cannot tighten rules without a state variance.
- Federal data show more than 98% of Georgia in severe to exceptional drought, with dry fuels helping drive wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres.
- Rain this week could total 2 to 3 inches, but forecasters say it will bring only modest relief to large rainfall deficits.
- The USDA has designated 146 counties as drought disaster areas, opening emergency farm loans as the state tracks conditions that could escalate to Level 2 limits.