Since early 2006, Georgia and much of the Southeast have seen plenty of sunshine. Rain is scarce and important reservoirs such as Lake Allatoona and Lake Lanier are drying up. If rain does not come, Lake Lanier, which provides water for one-third of the state’s population, could disappear in 90 days.

Griffin residents are coping with the drought by taking steps to conserve water.

“Yes, we’ve been conserving water at home,” said Abby Martin, who works at Iris City Arts and Framing on Taylor Street. “We don’t have any outside plants to water, not cutting the grass too short, that kind of thing.”

“Not watering my lawn is what I’m doing,” said Marilyn Robinson, owner of Marilyn’s Classic Home Accents in the former bottling plant complex on Taylor Street. “Trying to cut back at home, daily things.”

She said she has taken shorter showers and taken less time brushing her teeth.

Dan Dunson, owner of Dunson Properties and landlord of the former bottling plant building, joked that she was helping conserve water by selling silk plants. Robinson agreed.

“I have no living plants to have to water,” she said. “I’m saving people lots of money.”

Sherry Forrester, who works at the Movie Gallery on South Hill Street, said her family has taken steps to conserve.

“We’ve cut back on our water supply,” she said. “The kids don’t play in the water, we’ve looked at purchasing the toilets that conserve water.”

The drought has particularly affected landscapers.

“It’s very, very slow on landscaping,” said Ryan Rogers, owner of Rogers TurfCare. “Nobody’s been wanting to do landscaping because they can’t water it.”

He said that although the water-use rules permit watering for 30 days after putting in new sod, that’s not enough time to establish a new lawn.

Michael Sisemore, owner of Sisemore’s Grading and Landscaping, has also seen his business suffer.

“Yes, somewhat,” he said when asked if the drought is affecting his business.

He said people are not interested in planting anything anymore. Even though the rules permit watering for 30 days after putting in new plants or sod, he said people are afraid even that will be taken away.

The drought has caused some problems for the plant department at the North Expressway Wal-Mart.

“We’ve lost a lot of plants on account of the drought,” said Clint Garrett, who works in the plant section. “People are not buying plants as they would if they had water.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this article.