Middle of drought, water lawn or be fined

unsung · July 2014

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?u=http://news.yahoo.com/calif-couple-conserves-amid-drought-could-face-fine-201644396.html&ei=TdTJU5XWB-iiswfhm4CgCA&wsc=yh

Really, it's impossible to make this stuff up.

Smellyman · July 2014

lawns are ridiculous in so many ways. plant native species an quit using endless amounts of water, pesticides, fertilizers, mowers, weedwackers, blowers etc. etc.

JV130312 · July 2014

Seems like a pretty easy case to win in the courts...lol

unsung · July 2014

Can't really trust the courts though, they have the same employer.

chadwick · July 2014

Smellyman said:
lawns are ridiculous in so many ways. plant native species an quit using endless amounts of water, pesticides, fertilizers, mowers, weedwackers, blowers etc. etc.

"40 billion annually the u.s. spends on lawns. this is equal to the entire gross domestic product of veitnam" - penn & teller's lawn episode from their show, 'bullshit'

rollings · July 2014

The article said that the people's landscape was dead and had large areas of just dirt in the yard and that the property looked abandoned, so obviously it's been alot more than just one week since they watered it. There's a difference between overwatering your lawn vs. killing what is growing there.

The article is very short

brianlux · July 2014

Smellyman said:
lawns are ridiculous in so many ways. plant native species an quit using endless amounts of water, pesticides, fertilizers, mowers, weedwackers, blowers etc. etc.

Excellent idea, Smellyman.

I live in the Sierra foothills of northern California where the idea of a lawn is- to me anyway- ridiculous. Most of California is semi-arid and a typical lawn is anything but a native grass. When we moved to the house we're in there was a lawn area that we watered for a few years until we realized what a waste of water it was. Rather than continue that wasteful process we put in a native plant garden which includes grasses that are much more interesting than commercial sod. It dies back quite a bit in the summer as it is supposed to and comes back beautifully every spring. This is my favorite spot in our yard. My wife has several potted plants- too many for current water conditions in my opinion- but we have also planted several trees and shrubs that are natives and they do just fine. We're considering doing more xeriscaping ("a landscaping method developed especially for arid and semiarid climates that utilizes water-conserving techniques" -Websters) as this drought is expected to continue.

mickeyrat · July 2014

umm, where does it say they were fined or would be?
"Instead of citing the couple, he said, officials opted to leave a letter explaining that conserving water did not mean abandoning the landscape."

further the state states you cant "overwater" (whatever that means) sooooo, what course of action is deemed reasonable?

i_lov_it · July 2014

That's just insane and really Stupid good on them for Conserving water...Here in Perth your only allowed Two watering Days per week Three if you have a Bore...and No watering days at all during the Winter Months which makes sense.

hedonist · July 2014

From the recent local news (at least here in Southern California), warnings are being issued initially, with fines to follow if folks continue to waste water.

Seems odd/even days for usage has been implemented too. Reminds me of the gas crisis here in the 70s.

I agree the conserve but keep your grass green thing seems conflicting...maybe there are community/HOA guidelines in place?

Certainly doesn't hurt to grow plants that don't require frequent watering. Or, allow folks to use the watering for something not simply aesthetic, like a garden for fruit, vegetables, herbs.

Win-win.

brianlux · July 2014

i_lov_it said:
That's just insane and really Stupid good on them for Conserving water...Here in Perth your only allowed Two watering Days per week Three if you have a Bore...and No watering days at all during the Winter Months which makes sense.

We're on a the same schedule here i_love_it.

So I have to ask a really dumb question: In the Southern Hemisphere are the months of December January and February called "winter"? That is your dry season- do you not refer to it as summer?

hedonist · July 2014

i_lov_it said:
That's just insane and really Stupid good on them for Conserving water...Here in Perth your only allowed Two watering Days per week Three if you have a Bore...and No watering days at all during the Winter Months which makes sense.

What's a bore? Guessing it's an Aussie term

rr165892 · July 2014

Can someone find a way to get our OVER abundance of rain water here in Florida to Cali or other drought stricken areas.It would help us both.How about we attach a water pipeline to any new Natural gas pipeline proposed and we can deal with 2issues at same time.
Also for our Aussie friend,isn't there a plant down under that takes sea breeze moisture and converts it to drinking water.Its a real cool looking architectural building.I heard it really does a great job.

mickeyrat · July 2014

hedonist said:

i_lov_it said:
That's just insane and really Stupid good on them for Conserving water...Here in Perth your only allowed Two watering Days per week Three if you have a Bore...and No watering days at all during the Winter Months which makes sense.
What's a bore? Guessing it's an Aussie term

what we know as winter is their summer?

a "Bore" makes me think of a well?

i_lov_it · July 2014

brianlux said:

i_lov_it said:
That's just insane and really Stupid good on them for Conserving water...Here in Perth your only allowed Two watering Days per week Three if you have a Bore...and No watering days at all during the Winter Months which makes sense.
We're on a the same schedule here i_love_it.

So I have to ask a really dumb question: In the Southern Hemisphere are the months of December January and February called "winter"? That is your dry season- do you not refer to it as summer?

That's our Summer Brian and yeah it's Dry here especially in Perth...but up North of Australia in the Tropics it's the Wet Season...Our Winter Months are June...July and August and that's when we get most of our Rain.

i_lov_it · July 2014

hedonist said:

i_lov_it said:
That's just insane and really Stupid good on them for Conserving water...Here in Perth your only allowed Two watering Days per week Three if you have a Bore...and No watering days at all during the Winter Months which makes sense.
What's a bore? Guessing it's an Aussie term

It's a Hole straight into the ground that Pumps the Water back up called "Bore Water"...Stinks too and turns everything a Rusty colour.

hedonist · July 2014

Ah, thank you. So it's not drinkable, I guess...but used on plants/land?

brianlux · July 2014

i_lov_it said:

hedonist said:

i_lov_it said:
That's just insane and really Stupid good on them for Conserving water...Here in Perth your only allowed Two watering Days per week Three if you have a Bore...and No watering days at all during the Winter Months which makes sense.
What's a bore? Guessing it's an Aussie term
It's a Hole straight into the ground that Pumps the Water back up called "Bore Water"...Stinks too and turns everything a Rusty colour.

Is a bore similar to a well? I wonder if the bore you experience is pulling up minerals like maybe sulfur that would give the water a bad smell. I'm assuming of course that the bore was not drilled over or near a septic tank, hahaha!