In what lawmakers call a proactive effort to show Florida and Alabama that Georgia is
trying to conserve water, the House and Senate passed two water conservation bills.

Introduced by Governor Perdue, the bills incentivize and encourage water conservation, and require any new residential or commercial building built after June 2012 to have water-efficient plumbing fixtures and restrict landscape watering. If approved, leak-detection programs and annual water loss audits of water are likely to be implemented by municipal water suppliers.

The Senate unanimously passed the bill and the House passed the bill with a 166-5 vote. One version of the legislation must receive the approval of both chambers before it heads to the governor’s desk for his signature.