GA SB370

Directs multiple Georgia state agencies (Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division, Department of Agriculture, and others) to examine their practices, programs, and policies by August 1, 2010, to develop programs and incentives for voluntary water conservation and water supply enhancement, with interim and final reports to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and General Assembly, followed by annual progress reports through 2015.

Requires the Board of Natural Resources to adopt rules by January 1, 2011, establishing best management practices for public water systems serving at least 3,300 individuals, including a phased-in approach to standardized annual water loss audits—systems serving 10,000+ individuals by January 1, 2012, and all others by January 1, 2013.

Establishes permanent statewide outdoor irrigation restrictions limiting watering to between 4:00 P.M. and 10:00 A.M. daily, with numerous exemptions including commercial agriculture, drip irrigation, handwatering, personal food gardens, and athletic fields; counties and municipalities must adopt these provisions by ordinance no later than January 1, 2011.

Mandates high-efficiency plumbing fixtures (toilets averaging no more than 1.28 gallons per flush, lavatory faucets at 1.5 GPM, kitchen faucets at 2.0 GPM, urinals at 0.5 gallons per flush) and high-efficiency cooling towers in all new construction permitted on or after July 1, 2012, and requires new multiunit residential, retail, and light industrial buildings permitted after July 1, 2012, to allow individual measurement and separate charging of water use by unit.

Creates a ten-member Joint Committee on Water Supply (five House members, five Senate members) to study the state's reservoir system and strategic water supply needs, including creative financing options, with a report due by December 31, 2010, when the committee is abolished.