ARTIFICIAL GRASS: THE SOLUTION TO SAN DIEGO WATER RESTRICTIONS

Artificial grass lawns are an environmentally friendly way to save water and to help homeowners comply with recently considered water restrictions in San Diego.  According to the USGS & University of Arizona, homeowners use twice as much water (66% of total water consumption) as city businesses.  Landscape/turf irrigation is the main driver – representing 60% of water consumption!  A typical home uses 36 gallons per sq ft of lawn per year.  So for typical residential yard with 1,000 sq ft of lawn a homeowner will use 36,000 gallons of water per year!

The San Diego city council met in early November to approve a new set of mandatory water conservation measures.  This measure includes a sliding scale of restrictions likely to go into effect in 2009.  Ninety percent of San Diego city’s water comes from elsewhere.  Dry weather and new legal restrictions on water pumping mean the region is vulnerable to severe water shortages.  A member of San Diego city’s water department says the rules the council will discuss do not affect businesses’ water use, but will affect homeowners, parks and public landscaping.    San Diego County Water Authority has already called for residents to save 20 gallons per day – that’s 600 gallons per month or 7,200 gallons per year – a 10 percent reduction.  Data shows San Diego city residents have responded, but their efforts have only saved about 6 percent – not enough to meet the goal.  The council will not discuss how to enforce water rationing or what penalties to impose until a future date.