The West has lost 63 trillion gallons of surface water in the drought. That’s a lot of water. And it makes water conservation one of the most important concerns for California residents.
There are water conservation tips posted all over the Internet, but the one water conservation step that stands to affect the most change involves homeowners choosing to replace their natural lawns and landscaping with artificial grass.
Beyond helping to save the State’s precious water supply, installing artificial grass is also coming with an added bonus at this time – rebate incentives.
There are turf removal rebate programs that offer homeowner cash for replacing their natural lawns. Currently, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is offering residents turf removal rebates starting at $2.00 per square foot. And with artificial grass options starting at $1.58 per square foot, some SoCal residents are actually making money by switching out to a more drought-friendly lawn option.
The historical record shows that there were 200-year “mega-droughts” that occurred between 850 and 1090 or between 1140 and 1320.
So are we in the beginning years of one of these mega-droughts?
Well, “the current drought could be classified as a megadrought — 13 years running,” paleoclimatologist Edward Cook, director of the Tree Ring Laboratory at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, N.Y., said at a recent AGU presentation. “There’s no indication it’ll be getting any better in the near term.”
The prospect of living through a mega-drought is scary, but if people start taking the situation seriously, we can begin to conserve water for top priority uses like drinking and farming.
If you’re a homeowner considering a switch to a more drought-friendly lawn and you want to learn more about the process, be sure to check out our DIY Easy Install Guide. It runs through what to expect step-by-step so that you can make sure it’s the best solution for your family.
