Re: Lawn Watering Required

**N* S* <T*@plantsoup.com>**

I am reading all of this with some amusement and a sense of foreboding.

Here in California everyone has an irrigation system.  If we didn't,  
we'd have no gardens except those done with local natives - but that  
is another issue.

Rainfall in my community averages 11" but this past year, we had only 4"

Overspray, poorly aimed sprinklers, irrigations systems running in  
the heat of the day and "fear of drip irrigation" are everyday  
occurrences and frustrations for folks like me.

There are ongoing water wars between the northern and southern parts  
of the states - much of the south's water comes from the north and  
there are issues about endangered fish being threatened by too much  
water being pulled from the Sacramento Delta and shipped south, among  
other things.

Still, water agencies at all levels (local, regional, state-wide) are  
afraid to institute watering restrictions.  They have to be coming,  
but no one wants to admit it.  We are awaiting a ruling perhaps in  
September, that will determine whether, or maybe more likely when  
residents face mandatory cutbacks.  Mandatory agriculture cutbacks  
begin in a few weeks.

Where is this going?  To a major shift in landscape, no doubt.

Stay tuned....

On Aug 28, 2007, at 6:53 AM, loisdan@juno.com wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> We are just beginning to see lawn sprinkler systems in our town, which
> gets plenty of rain, except in August and sometimes July. As the  
> chair of
> our Environmental Commission, I was horrified to find out that these
> systems use between nine and eleven gallons of water PER MINUTE!  
> Everyone
> here is on wells. More frustrating still is to drive down the road and
> see someone's poorly-aimed sprinkler watering the street, with the  
> water
> going irretrievably into the storm sewer, instead of into the ground.
>
> Regards,
> Lois de Vries
> Visit http://loisdevries.blogspot.com
>
> On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 09:29:35 -0400 "Daryl" <pulis@mindspring.com>  
> writes:
>> Bermudagrass doesn't need much water, unless you want it to be
>> uniformly
>> green. It can go many weeks without rain or supplemental irrigation
>> and
>> bounce back. The problem is that subdivision covenants often require
>> green,
>> rather than brown lawns. The Utah case is the first I've heard of a
>> town
>> requiring lawn irrigation.
>>
>> Here in Georgia, there are permanent water restrictions. Odd-even
>> rules plus
>> Midnight to 10 AM.  Some municipalities have gone to
>> stricter rules. In my county, watering is allowed only 2 days per
>> week and
>> then with the Midnight to 10 AM restriction. Fines have been
>> assessed up to
>> $1,000 for watering outside of the restrictions.
>>
>> Unfortunately, watering restrictions tend to encourage people to
>> water just
>> because it's their day. In addition, the nighttime hours are such a
>> pain in
>> the neck for people that they have expensive irrigation systems
>> installed.
>> Once they have the system, they use it to justify their investment.
>>
>> Daryl
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Sort of points our how much of a hog grass is, doesn't it? I'm
>> surprised
>>> Bermunda grass, which is warm-season, southern grass, needs so
>> much water.
>>> We don't grow Bermuda or other southern grass in Indianapolis,
>> except for
>>> the occasional person who plugs in zoysia. Argh!
>>>
>>> Here in Indianapolis, we've had water restrictions and a couple of
>> bans
>>> this summer. The city has put bans on watering the lawns,
>> depending on the
>>> severity of the dry weather, and the water company has asked us to
>> water
>>> only on odd or even days, depending on our address, when watering
>> is
>>> allowed.
>>>
>>> I tell my readers not to water their lawns. Of all the plants in
>> the
>>> landscape, grass is about the cheapest to replace. Lawns can go
>> six weeks
>>> without water and survive.
>>>
>>> jems
>>>
>>
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