Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
Savings from artificial grass
Replacing grass with artificial turf in a 1,000-square-foot yard would
save:
* About 112 gallons per day, or 41,000 gallons each year, for a coastal
home.
* About 156 gallons daily, or 57,000 gallons annually, for an inland
property.
Source: San Diego County Water Authority
SACRAMENTO – Rocky Wilson figures that just by landscaping his small front
yard with artificial turf, he could save enough water annually to take a
five-minute shower daily for about six years.
If only his homeowners association would let him.
Wilson has been working with the governing board of La Costa Greens, a
master-planned community of single-family residences in Carlsbad, for
nearly two years to secure permission amid steep water shortages and
rationing across California.
“Why waste water?” he asked. “I was born and raised here. There’s always
been drought.”
Wilson’s case isn’t isolated, according to state water officials and water
districts in San Diego County.
They said that many HOAs have moved aggressively to reduce water
consumption partly by planting drought-resistant vegetation or watering
their lawns less often, but that some resist such changes because they want
to preserve a certain look for their community’s landscaping. The
opposition can come from an HOA board or certain residents in a complex.
“I’ve got some ratepayers fighting their homeowners associations over the
right to put in low-water-use plants or artificial turf,” said Keith
Lewinger, general manager of the Fallbrook Public Utility District.
Hoping to create a more uniform policy, water managers took their case to
Sacramento. Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña, D-San Diego, took up the cause.
“They need direction when we’re dealing with record drought,” Saldaña said
in introducing Assembly Bill 1793.
Saldaña’s measure would require homeowners associations to allow
installation of artificial turf. But in a nod to concerns about quality,
the legislation permits those associations to establish design and quality
standards for fake grass.
Although artificial turf is gaining more public acceptance as manufacturers
make better-looking and longer-lasting versions, some HOA boards continue
to have misgivings about the turf’s appearance and durability.
There are about 6,000 homeowners associations in San Diego County and
43,350 statewide, from condos to single-family developments, according to
2007 data compiled by Community Associations.
At Villa Portofino in Tierrasanta, Muriel Vasconcellos is less than
enthusiastic about the prospect of her HOA having to accept artificial
grass, partly because she’s worried about “potentially dangerous chemicals
that have been found in some varieties”.
Vasconcellos, a member of her association’s landscaping committee, said
local rules don’t expressly prohibit artificial turf, but she doesn’t get
the sense that many neighbors support it.
“People around here enjoy our area for its natural beauty,” she said.
So she’s helping to replace her neighborhood’s grassy areas with
drought-tolerant plants. “I like a natural solution,” Vasconcellos said.
Saldaña believes installing artificial grass will benefit HOAs by lowering
water
bills and maintenance costs. She lives in a rental complex that encourages
use of artificial grass.
“It’s very attractive,” Saldaña said. “It obviously conserves water and can
be maintained.”
Assemblyman Ted Lieu<http://topics.signonsandiego.com/topic/Ted_W._Lieu>;,
D-Torrance, has endorsed Saldaña’s bill. Last year, he got the Legislature
to pass legislation meant to push HOAs to allow more drought-resistant
landscaping.
“We are still in a drought,” Lieu said. “We have to change our ways.”
The San Diego County Water Authority, noting that outdoor uses make up
about 60 percent of household water consumption, is promoting artificial
turf as an important way to battle drought.
“What we’ve been hearing for a number of months is that many HOAs were
either prohibiting or limiting the use of artificial turf,” said William
Rose <http://topics.signonsandiego.com/topic/William_Rose>; , head of the
authority’s conservation program.
His agency estimates that about 112 gallons of water would be saved each
day if a coastal homeowner installed artificial grass in a
1,000-square-foot yard. That’s roughly 41,000 gallons a year.
The savings would be even greater in warmer inland communities:
approximately 156 gallons a day, or about 57,000 gallons annually.
Wilson, a consultant for the Fastrucking shipping service in San Diego,
estimates that he could use 30,000 fewer gallons a year by not watering his
300-square-foot front yard.
That’s enough for doing 1,200 loads of laundry with a newer,
high-efficiency washing machine, or for flushing a low-flow toilet 18,750
times, according to the county water authority.
Wilson hopes the La Costa Greens board will approve his application and
then clear the way for more of his neighbors to put in artificial grass.
The savings could be 3 million gallons of water a year if 1,000 La Costa
Greens residents converted, he said.
“It’s not for everybody, but the option should be there for those who want
to,” Wilson said.
Staff writer Mike Lee contributed to this report.
Joe Kocurek
Press Secretary
Office of Assembly Member Lori Saldaña
Speaker pro Tempore
(619) 645-3090 (Office)
(619) 818-5834 (Cell)