There are many reasons why someone might want a green grass lawn, whether for visual appeal, as a manifestation of social aspirations, or for family enjoyment. It’s natural that anyone who does want a green lawn would ignore or react against advocacy that urges residents to let their lawn go brown. If you don’t want a brown lawn, for whatever reason, it won’t matter that 80% of water used for lawn irrigation simply evaporates into the air, or that the amount of water used in one week of lawn watering is equivalent to running the shower for 12 hours.
Here’s the secret: you can have a green lawn without ever watering it! Bob Lemoine (featured in video above) hasn’t watered his lawn in 43 years, yet it’s green, inviting, and well-played on by his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. If Bob didn’t have a Water for People lawn sign at the end of his driveway, proclaiming his desire to save our rivers and streams, you would never know his grass must survive on precipitation alone.
Along with our Greenscapes Coalition partners, we hope the Water for People campaign will change people’s perception of outdoor water conservation. The campaign shifts the focus of water conservation from a purely ecological standpoint, to one of social responsibility. Water is necessary for so many aspects of our lives from industry and public safety, to agriculture and recreation. Residents who choose to take part
in this regional, one-yard-at-a-time restoration project are pledging to not water their grass. With the lawn signs, they are also showing others that a yard can be green without wasting water. As more people take the pledge and get their lawn signs in the ground, we hope to show that more of our neighbors are already conserving than we might at first realize. This is crucial as social norms play a big part in inspiring behavior change.
You can be a resident leader like Ann Wright (pictured above) and the 20 other residents who have already posted a lawn sign on their property. Take the Water for People pledge today!
Nice article to spark interest but short on information. But how do you go waterless on the grass lawn without the grass turning yellow?
Hi Ricardo, it depends on your current lawn. If you have an all bluegrass lawn, we would suggest reseeding in the fall with a fescue blend. Fescues are naturally drought resistant.