The latest threat to Valley water supplies is self-inflicted: our home landscaping. A new study from the Public Policy Institute of California says the use of water to irrigate lawns is dramatically higher in the Valley and other inland areas of the state than it is in coastal California. That's partly because of the hotter, drier climate here, but the bigger culprit, the study concludes, is land use policies that favor larger lots and less multifamily residential construction.
We also don't do nearly enough to conserve the water we have. Landscaping currently accounts for at least half of all residential water demand, according to the report.
The growth that's expected in the years ahead will only make the situation worse, especially if we go on about our business-as-usual lives with respect to critical resources like water.
We'll have more to say on this issue in an editorial on Sunday in the Vision section of The Bee.
We've been talking for years about the the need for "smart growth," and about conserving water and energy and reducing pollution. But it seems like we just keep getting the same sprawling subdivisions and shopping centers, and the same land use planning that scatters jobs all over the suburbs.
And any time a local government does try to do something, the developers file suit to stop it. What will it take to drag the building industry kicking and screaming into the new realities of the 21st century?
Replace lawns with rock gardens. People would hate it but it would solve the problem.
Theres a gravel place on Blackstone and McKinley that would benefit a ton. I could get creative with different colored rocks. I would miss my plants too.
Nonsense, mike all we need is a new dam at temperance flat....and we can continue to have large thirsty lawns....boswell will stay happy too! win win