Georgia Code
Part 2 - Ground-Water Use Generally
§ 12-5-105. Regulated Reasonable Use of Ground Water for Farm Use; Permits to Withdraw, Obtain, or Utilize; Metering; Related Procedures

(b.1) (1) The division shall have the duty of implementing a program of measuring farm uses of water in order to obtain clear and accurate information on the patterns and amounts of such use, which information is essential to proper management of water resources by the state and useful to farmers for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their use of water, meeting the requirements of subsections (b) and (b.1) of this Code section, and improving water conservation.
(2) The division:
(3) Any person whose permit for agricultural water use was issued before July 1, 2003, and who desires to install a water-measuring device at no cost to the state may do so, provided that the permittee shall have an acceptable type of water-measuring device installed and placed in operation at each point of permitted withdrawal and the permittee shall notify the division in writing once the installation has occurred. The division shall approve or disapprove the installation within 60 days of the date of notification.
(4) Any person who desires to commence a farm use of water for which a permit is issued after July 1, 2003, shall not commence such use prior to receiving approval from the division that such person has installed an acceptable type of water-measuring device installed by the commission at each point of permitted withdrawal. The permittee shall be responsible for all such costs.
(5) Regarding all permits for which a water-measuring device is installed, regardless of when the permit was issued, the division shall contract for the annual reading of such water-measuring devices. The division shall require each contractor conducting such annual readings to transmit complete and accurate data required by the division to the division annually.
(6) The division shall audit a subset of reported water-measuring device readings submitted by permittees for the purpose of understanding and improving the accuracy of such readings.
History. Ga. L. 1972, p. 976, § 13; Ga. L. 1973, p. 1273, § 26; Ga. L. 1982, p. 2306, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1694, § 8; Ga. L. 2003, p. 813, § 3; Ga. L. 2006, p. 237, § 4/SB 191; Ga. L. 2010, p. 732, § 6/SB 370; Ga. L. 2018, p. 974, § 4/SB 451; Ga. L. 2019, p. 1056, § 12/SB 52.
The 2019 amendment, effective May 12, 2019, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation and language in subparagraph (b.1)(2)(D).
Cross references.
Surface water withdrawal permits, § 12-5-31 .
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2003, “paragraph (5.1)” was substituted for “paragraph (10)” in the first sentence of subsection (a).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2006, “April 20, 2006,” was substituted for “the effective date of this subsection” in the fourth sentence of subsection (a) and in the second sentence of paragraph (b)(1), and “April 20, 2006,” was substituted for “the effective date of this paragraph” in paragraph (b)(2) (now paragraph (b)(3)).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2010, a semicolon was substituted for a colon at the end of paragraph (d)(3) and “and” was added at the end of paragraph (d)(4).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2010, p. 732, § 1/SB 370, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The General Assembly recognizes the imminent need to create a culture of water conservation in the State of Georgia. The General Assembly also recognizes the imminent need to plan for water supply enhancement during future extreme drought conditions and other water emergencies. In order to achieve these goals, the General Assembly directs the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to coordinate with its Environmental Protection Division, the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority [now known as the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority], the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the Georgia Forestry Commission, the Georgia Department of Community Health, including its Division of Public Health, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, and the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission to work together as appropriate to develop programs for water conservation and water supply.”
Law reviews.
For survey article on environment, natural resources, and land use, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 145 (1982).
For article, “Water Rights, Public Resources, and Private Commodities: Examining the Current and Future Law Governing the Allocation of Georgia Water,” see 38 Ga. L. Rev. 1009 (2004).
For note, “The Problem of Reallocation in a Regulated Riparian System: Examining the Law in Georgia,” see 40 Ga. L. Rev. 207 (2005).
For article on 2010 amendment of this Code section, “Conservation and Natural Resources,” see 27 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 185 (2010).