10 Water Conservation Tips & Artificial Grass

The news gets worse every day. The drought and the wildfires that result from the dry conditions are forcing evacuations, lost crops, and fear. On May 16, 2014, USA Today reported that wildfires are spreading in California and Texas; California’s drought situation is severe; and Texas is going into its fourth year of drought.
California has been hit the hardest with the lingering drought and wildfires. CBS Channel 2, in Palm Springs, Calif., has confirmed that 100 percent of California is now in a drought. And on April 25, 2014, Calif. Governor Jerry Brown issued his second executive order to help fight wildfires, as well as help farmers and city water authorities get the water that they need for survival.
Do you live in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco or San Jose, California or in other drought-weary states, such as Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Texas? Do you wonder how you can conserve water?
Here are 10 creative ways to conserve water if you live those U.S. regions:
1. Before you pour that used water down the drain, consider recycling it to water your flower gardens or indoor plants.
2. A two-for-one in the tub: When you take a shower, put in two to three buckets to collect excess water. You can use that extra water to irrigate your trees and shrubs.
3. Do you need to wash the car this Saturday? Then, park it in your lawn rather than in the driveway. Again, it’s a two-for-one. You wash your car and the excess water goes right back into your lawn to help keep it green, to develop a deeper root system, and to continue to grow.
4. Limit the amount the time you irrigate your lawn and landscape. Spread out the watering routine to a good soak every 5 – 7 days. By giving your lawn an adequate soaking rather than a light sprinkling, you enable your lawn and landscape to grow deeper roots and to keep moisture in the ground for a longer period of time.
5. Instead of spending an hour soaking your lawn and landscape, you can break it up into 15 minute sessions. Again, it’s important to focus on a certain portion of your lawn or landscape for 15 minutes so that each portion of your yard gets adequate water for growth and water retention. However, for water conservation sake, you need to limit your irrigation duties and use less water than you normally would during the summer months.
6. Make sure your sprinklers are hitting your grass and flowers—and not the neighborhood kids playing on the sidewalk. Even though it’s fun for kids to jump in your sprinklers, you need to think about conservation first. So, place your sprinklers to spray water only on your grass and your landscapes.
7. Use timing devices on your irrigation systems that will automatically shut off your sprinklers after a set amount of time or after a certain amount of water is used. Also, consider adding a rain sensor to your sprinkler system so that your system shuts off when it rains.
8. Move your mower blades to a height of three inches. You don’t need to have a crew cut lawn. Instead, you can conserve water by allowing your grass to be a bit higher. Not only will the longer length help keep moisture in the soil, but the taller blades can shade your soil to keep it at a lower temperature and to again, assist with water retention in the ground—requiring you to irrigate your lawn less frequently.
9. Practice xeriscaping by planting native plants, trees, and shrubs in your landscape. Native plants, whether they’re flowers, grasses, trees or shrubs, can withstand the desert climate of drought-ridden states. For example, Texan homeowners can plant Flame Acanthus, Fall Asters, and Lanceleaf Coreopsis in their flower gardens. Californian homeowners can plant various pine trees and oaks. And Nevada homeowners can plant Joshua trees, Indian ricegrass, sandgrass, red and Fendler three-awns, as well as buffalo grass throughout their property.
10. Remember to add mulch throughout your landscaped beds to hold in moisture, to protect soil from overheating, and for aesthetics. Just beware that too much mulch will burn your plants and too little mulch will allow the soil to warm up to dangerous levels. Safe mulch depths are between one to three inches.
11. Here’s a bonus tip: If you really want to save time, money and water, consider removing your natural grass and installing artificial grass in its place throughout your lawn. Today’s artificial grass looks exteremely realistic and natural.  In addition, innovative premium US made turf from Advanced Grass is made lead and latex free with heat reductions technololgy and superb drainage.  Be careful of non-US made turf that may contain lead/latex and doesn’t come with approved testing from reliable US testing agencies such as ASTM and Consumer Products Safety Commission.
If you’d like to learn more about purchasing and installing artificial grass to replace your water thirsty natural grass throughout California, as well as in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, and Texas, call Advanced Grass today at 1-800-992-0887 or fill out their homeowner’s contact form at http://www.advancedgrass.com/homeowner-support/.

Resources:
Blaine, Marc. “100 Percent of California in State of Drought,” KESQ.com: http://www.kesq.com/news/100-percent-of-california-in-state-of-drought/25669216.
Jervis, Rick and William M. Welch. “Drought Creates Tinderbox for Wildfires in Southwest USA,” USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/15/drought-wildfires-texas-california/9132743/.
Lin, Judy. “Governor Brown Orders More Actions on California Drought,” CBS Sacramento: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/04/25/governor-brown-orders-more-actions-on-california-drought/.
National Weather Service Forecast Office (NOAA). “What is Meant by the Term Drought?” NOAA, Flagstaff, Arizona: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz/science/drought.php?wfo=fgz.
Red Cross. “Drought Preparedness & Water Conservation: About Drought,” Red Cross.org: http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/drought.
Red Cross. “Drought Preparedness & Water Conservation: Indoor Water Conservation Tips and Outdoor Water Conservation Tips,” Red Cross.org: http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/drought.