New homes in California will face watering limits

[steve2470]

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/new-663625-rules-water.html

Water-guzzling lawns have taken significant flack in California’s four-year drought, and officials delivered another hit Friday by sharply limiting how much water newly constructed landscapes can use.

The limits came from the state’s Building Standard’s Commission in response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s executive order that urban water users cut back 25 percent during California’s four-year drought.

Builders and developers can meet the new rules by planting shrubs and bushes instead of grass, or by installing slow-trickling valves instead of traditional sprinklers.

“You can still see grass, you are just going to see a lot less of it,” said Bob Raymer of the California Building Industry Association, which supported the changes.

[Buzz Clik]

1. I guess it's never to late to try to get your shit together.

California has had its head up its ass concerning water for about 70 or 80 years.

Maybe it's not too late. Maybe.

[still_one]

2. El Nina/el Nino may help us this fall

[Buzz Clik]

3. Only if el Nino cuts your population in half.

California has too many people for the resources.

[still_one]

6. I'm not moving, and I am way in the monthly allocation starting 6/15

[Wellstone ruled]

4. This only effects the regular folks.

You know damn well the 1%ers don't give a hoot how much they pay or how they attain their water.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. I know a gardener who is installing drip irrigation for lawns.

It's extremely efficient.

My town has zero restrictions on gardens that have drip irrigation...which we did about 10 years ago. Works like a charm.

[JayhawkSD]

9. I've been in landscaping for almost 20 years.

And my experience with drip is extensive, since 11 of those years was in Arizona. The only drip for lawns that I know of which works is in the form of a sort of mesh that must be put in place before the turf is either seeded or the sod laid.

Retrofitting shrub/flower bed areas is not a major issue, but installinf drip on existing lawns is something entirely new. Could you send me more information as to how he does this?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. I will ask him when I get a chance.

I don't know what form it takes. We don't have any lawn in our yard so I haven't seen it in action.

On edit: Silverweb in post #7 talks about Enviroscape. This is the gardener I use, the one who's installing drip in lawns. Have a look!

[JayhawkSD]

12. Got it, it's not retrofit.

It's drip installed before the turf is put down. Makes more sense.

I'm a big fan of drip irrigation, and have been for many years. When I moved to San Diego I was shocked to find out that it was virtually never used here. I was talking with a guy from Rainbird and he said that San Diego and Orange counties were, at that time (1993), the only places in the entire southwest where they sold essentially no drip irrigation supplies. The reason had to do with proclivity for lawsuits based on drip not being considered "state of the art" in the local courts.

[silverweb]

7. Anyone in the coastal LA area might want to check this out:

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Enviroscape LA

The owner, Mike Garcia, has done some absolutely gorgeous, low water-use, native grass and plant landscapes - all with drip irrigation if it even requires any.

I'm just an apartment dweller in North-Central California, but I look at his stuff all the time just to admire it and for planting ideas here.

[JayhawkSD]

8. My HOA relandscaped our entryway island.

We planted low-water use plants and used inorganic ground cover. We wanted to convey to passers by that we are conserving water. One small problem. We still have a large expanse of green lawn on either side of the entry way, and the board refuses to even consider replacing it.

We also have large expanses of lawn in the main areas, including huge expanses that are to the rear of houses where they cannot be seen, and have two pools serving 145 units. The board will not consider closing one pool, will not entertain the idea of replacing any of the lawn areas with other types of planting, and absolutely refuses to allow the use of artificial turf.

But we, by God, have a lovely water conserving planting at the 200 sq. ft. island at the entryway to our complex. I am so proud.

[pinto]

11. More and more folks in my area are redoing front yards in all succulents.

Done well, they are stunning.