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Los Angeles County residents and businesses were informed this week that outdoor water usage would be limited to one day per semaine starting June 1. This is the first time such a strict rule has been implemented by water officials.
“This is a crisis. This is unprecedented,” Adel Hagekhalil (general manager, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California) said. “We have never done something like this before, and because this is the first time we’ve ever seen it happen like that.”
The Great American Lawn has been a status symbol for many years and is often portrayed as a place to relax and enjoy comfort. They require a lot of water to keep them thriving, and this water is quickly running out.
According to that study, it takes 75% of a household’s water to keep the front lawn grass green. This luxury is not available in California due to climate change-driven droughts that have reduced reservoirs to historic lows.
According to John Fleck, director of Water Resources Program at University of New Mexico, conventional grass lawns won’t work in Southern California, home to many celebrity homes and lush green yards.
Fleck stated that you want your children to have some space in your yard. A little bit of grass is okay. It’s the large expanses of lawn that aren’t being used, other than ‘because they look pretty’ — it has to go. This is what we don’t have anymore.
He said, “We just cannot afford the water for that.”
Water hogs
Fleck stated that the idea of lawns being a sign of status became ingrained in gardening culture in this country during British colonialism. So it kind of traveled west with us, and all that labor was taken in.”
Fleck stated that grass lawns thrived in the US on the East Coast because it was raining all the time and didn’t require supplemental irrigation water. As Americans moved west, they brought with them the “landscape they were comfortable and familiar with.”
Fleck said, “The problem is we have brought grasses into this climate in Southwest that come from wetter regions.” “The Kentucky Bluegrass is the classic example.”
Kentucky bluegrass, which is a native of Europe and Asia, but can thrive in parts of the Eastern US requires more water than the West can provide.
In the desert Southwest, water doesn’t last very long. The heat and dry air evaporate water quickly, which increases the amount of water needed to saturate a lawn. This effect is magnified on hot summer days, when warmer air can absorb more water — which is also when it has been most difficult to find enough water.
California has many subclimates. These range from hot and dry to wet and cool. California is a state where water is important to maintain a grass lawn.
According to the California Department of Water Resources (California Department of Water Resources), a 1,500-square-foot lawn on Crescent City’s northern coast could require 22,000 gallons of irrigation per year.
Further south, however, the requirements are much higher. Los Angeles would require 43,000 gallons per year for a lawn of the same size. It jumps to 63,000 gallons an year an hour east in Palm Springs.
According to the Department of Water Resources, half of California’s urban residential water consumption is used for landscaping. This is due to California’s low humidity and scorching heat. According to the agency, the average Californian consumes 51 gallons of indoor water per day, or 19,000 Gallons per year.
Lawn mowers, weed-whackers, fertilizer
Gas-powered lawnmowers emit harmful pollutants that can cause cancer, and planet-warming gasses. This, in turn, contributes to the climate crisis as well as the region’s drought.
It also has a harder job accessing and absorption water when fertilized. This means that it needs to be watered more frequently. Fertilizers boost the plant’s density, both above-ground or below. The roots can become compacted which can eventually decrease the soil’s ability for water retention.
What you can achieve different
Fleck, who lives in an Albuquerque suburban home without a lawn, said that if he had a grass lawn it would likely need the same amount water as a “thrifty” indoor water user.
He said that trees are the best option for outdoor landscaping, and not lawns. Trees provide a cooling effect on urban heat islands, save air conditioning energy, and help clean the air in areas that have poor air quality, such as Southern California.
Fleck stated that native landscaping is logical and can be very beautiful. Tucson is my favorite Western city. It has adopted native landscaping and it’s beautiful. It also uses a lot more water.
Fleck said that he believes “the brown lawn will be a badge-of-honor” soon.
He said, “It is like — I am making a contribution to the well being of our community in these times of crisis by ignoring my lawn.” “And that will be the status symbol.”
