Grass lawns need lots of water
Grass is the single largest irrigated “crop” in America, surpassing corn and wheat, a frequently-cited study from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found. It noted by the early 2000s, turfgrass, mostly in front lawns, spanned about 63,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of Georgia.
Keeping front lawn grass alive requires up to 75% of just one household’s water consumption, according to the study, which is a luxury California is quickly becoming unable to afford as the climate change-driven drought pushes reservoirs to historic lows.
The largest district in the state, the Metropolitan Water District serving 19 million people in Southern California, is paying $2 per square foot of grass pulled out. Water district customer cities and agencies can add more.
Bill McDonnell, senior resource specialist with the water district, envisions a future when a residential lawn is what he calls “abnormal” in Southern California. McDonnell estimates that 70% of water use in his district goes to outdoor irrigation, led by lawns.
“Each one of your sprinkler heads is like a shower,” he said. “You might have 15 or 20 sprinklers in your front yard. That’s 15 or 20 showers going off. That’s why we focus on outdoors (for water conservation).”
The Metropolitan Water District told CNN the number of requests for grass removal rebates jumped four times in July, to 1,172 applications.
Full Story...
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/19/us/california-drought-lawns/index.html