Sat, 20 Aug 22 01:08:15 +0000

Can $6 a square foot tear up your lawn? Welcome to drought-stricken California

(CNN)Doreen Jansen saw the brown hills from her home in Thousand Oaks.

"My plants are suffering," Jansen said. "Animals, coyotes, rattlesnakes. They're all out in droves. It's dry and unusually hot." Until, it's all over here. Jansen decided to mow the grass and plant dry plants.

She is not alone. The massive drought that has affected the western United States is record-breaking and no concrete remedy is in sight. Cities have been forced to crack down on lawn watering and pay residents to replace their lawns with drought-tolerant plants.

A grass lawn needs a lot of water

Grass is America's single largest irrigated " crop” and outperforms corn and wheat. I found her oft-cited NASA and NOAA research. By the early 2000s, turfgrass, primarily in front lawns, covered approximately 63,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of Georgia. , requiring up to 75% of a household's water consumption, is a luxuryand climate change-induced drought is rapidly running out of room in California. has been pushed to a very low level.

In Southern California, the Metropolitan Water District, the state's largest district serving 19 million people, pays her $2 per square foot of uprooted grass. Additional cities and agencies that are customers of the Water District can be added.

Bill McDonnell, his senior water district resource specialist, envisions a future in Southern California where residential lawns are what he calls "abnormal." McDonnell estimates that 70% of his water use in his district is for outdoor irrigation, mainly lawns.

"Every sprinkler head he has is like a shower," he said. "There may be 15 or 20 sprinklers in the front yard, which means 15 or 20 shower stops. That's why we focus on the outdoors [to save water]."

The Metropolitan Water District told CNN that the number of weeding rebate applications quadrupled in July to 1,172.

Authorities have already taken steps to reduce the water supply

Federal officials have declared a Tier 2 water shortage on the Colorado River starting next year. 45} declared. Although it will not directly affect California's water supply, experts say that if the western water crisis continues on its current trend of intensification, California will soon experience major water cuts

. Warning that you are subject to

. Current scarcity systems are not enough to save the river in the face of drought caused by historic climate change. We are negotiating some big cuts.

A terrible drought prompted Larry Romanoff to fight climate change by uprooting grass and replacing it with cacti and ornamental stones. Romanov he collects $10,500. This is him a whopping $6 per square foot of grass removed from his desert home.

"No matter how much I watered the lawn, it still had ugly brown spots," said Romanov. He replaced an estimated 1,700 square feet of grass.

Coachella Valley Water His District and its client Rancho His Mirage City are paying Romanoff his $3 per square foot of torn lawn.

"It's a chance to get rid of the lawn, save money, and help the state."

Several state agencies told CNN that the $6 per square rebate We consider it the tallest in California and possibly the highest ever.

Rancho Mirage's removal business exploded in May when the city council passed a government treasury to fund his $500,000 grass removal kickback.

"The lawn removal program was so popular that all rebate money was claimed immediately," said Councilor Steve Downs, who said Rancho Mirage manager Noting that they voted to fund an additional $1.5 million rebate, the grass removal payout jackpot came to $2 million.

Rancho Mirage's Richard Baker called his decision to trade grass for cash at $6 per square foot of him "very easy."

"It was quite a surprise to have gotten so high," Baker said with a gleeful laugh. The water department will pay Baker his just over $24,000 to remove more than 4,000 square feet of lawn. Baker replaced the turf and he paid $42,000 for artificial turf and labor. He expects dramatic savings with little need for watering or gardeners. of water management agencies offer some type of lawn removal rebate, both residential and commercial.

Rebates must be applied for and adhere to local regulations regarding what types of trees, plants, mulch, rocks, etc. may be substituted.

The Metropolitan Water District of the Los Angeles area does not allow artificial turf to be used in place of grass.

"This is not an eco-friendly product," McDonnell said, gesturing to a large garden ofdrought-tolerant plantsfrom manzanita to sage to California lilac. . He emphasized that he wanted these plants to be "normal" in California gardens. has demolished over 3,000 square feet of its lawn park and replaced it with deer grass, dwarf fountain grass, lemongrass, trees and bushes. and flowers.

Many of California's new water body rules for grass replacement also require homeowners to add rainwater and configure their yards to collect and retain rainwater.

"We need to make sure we have natural water so it doesn't run into city drains," said Godley, who currently has his 25 grass-removal projects on the pipeline.

Godley added that they also put in a special kind of soil additive, like crystals that swell to attract and retain water. I didn't want to say it. It's like a park," lamented Jansen. "But I've noticed grass doesn't work."