Watering your lawn

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The February 2008 issue of Texas Monthly has a series of articles looking at the future of Texas. One of these, written by S. C. Gwynne, entitled 'The Last Drop', looks at the future of water resources in Texas. It's a fascinating story. It examines the need for new reservoirs in east Texas, draining the Ogalala to supply Dallas & Cowtown, pumping water from Oklahoma, and many other issues.

One of the most troubling things was an interview with a resident of the Sulphur River drainage who is facing inundation to build the Marvin Nichols reservoir. "We just don't think it's fair to ask us to give up everything so that North Texas can put 60% of its water into watering lawns."

Indeed, the author tells us, 60% of the water usage in Dallas & Fort Worth during peak periods of July and August is for lawn maintenance. This seems like criminal stupidity to me. Surely no one on Quackenbush would justify this silliness, or would you?

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Probably, but before I get too critical I wonder how many gal per month these folks are using?
 
I always got pissed off when driving around Houston at noon in July seeing sprinklers on. IMO, watering rules should be in place regardless of drought situation. And watering should only be allowed at night/evening once the sun has gone down. I wouldn't mind seeing a graduated water bill too. My father in law waters his yard 2-3 times a week in the summer and his water bill freaking insane. He should pay more for that use. Obviously, he does in total dollar but after X gallons a month, he should have to pay a premium, IMO.
 
The TCEQ is in the process of a major overhaul of the design criteria for the irrigation industry. This is a small step in the right direction in terms of water conservation.
 
It's why I have buffalo grass and xeriscape. If it can't take the drought or heat, it doesn't belong in my yard.
 
I liked how the article mentioned that San Antonio is the model. I grew up there and they have had water restrictions (with fines) for years. And that has led to decrease in water usage. If I remember from the article, SA is like 1/2 or 1/3 the water usage per capita compared to Dallas.
 
It's sad, the best solution that article offers is getting it from Oklahoma. They routinely have more water than they need or use, but for obvious political reasons it probably won't happen.
 
A biology professor used to let his lawn grow wild. He liked it a lot more than his neighbors did, but he took a "**** you, you're a shortsighted moron" approach to things. Suburban living will end.
 
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Builders should be required to furnish this with all new construction projects from now on, including commercial sites.

Besides I have always wanted to yell......"you kids get off of my artificial lawn......damnit !!!!!"
 
Interesting.

I would actually be tempted to install an artificial lawn if I didn't think my HOA would rule against it.

But if those things eliminate fire ants then I'm sure I could win the debate.
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As I understand it, Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas, offers tax incentives for home owners who put artificial grass in their yards.. some of those turfs look very much like the real thing.. perhaps the new developments and city governments overseeing those developments should consider that.
 
Water covers 2/3 of the earth's surface. Surely there is enough sunlight and current to fuel next generation desalination plants to turn the world green. Wanna reduce carbon in the air and save hot young Tibetan Foundation chicks from starvation and slavery? Think carbon rootprint.
 
That synthetic grass looks pretty cool. If I built a home I'd look into it.

However, with the impervious cover restrictions here in Austin, I wonder how well rainwater gets through that.
 
My lawn looks great right now, and I haven't watered it yet this season. This past fall I ripped up my St. Augustine and replanted with a hybrid.

It's a cross of Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about it is, that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night.

All that, and I don't have a sky-high water bill.
 
Plant native plants and grasses and you don't have this problem. I've finally sold the wife on redoing part of our yard this way. taht, and I already never water my yard anyway.
 
I really think we could do a much better job of catching rain runoff for lawn gardening. My parents have huge 100 gallon barrels attached to their gutter system, and they use it to water plants, but it fills up rather quickly in a good rain. The other thing is capturing Grey water for lawn use. Grey water is like sink, shower, dishwasher drainage. My uncle actually has some sort of septic system that somehow extracts water from sewage to water his lawn.
Really it is just a waste to be putting perfectly drinkable water on our lawns, when they really don't need high quality water.
Also, just think how much water you waste waiting for your bath or dish water to warm up. It's perfectly clean, perfectly drinkable. I honestly don't think I could even drink in a day they amount of water I waste in a day, and I consider myself a moderate conservationist.
 
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