As well as needing the Auburn Dam to be built to protect the integrity of the American River Parkway, we also need it to water all the new grass growing in front of all the new homes in the capital region.
An excerpt.
Soaking it up: Population grows -- so does the grass
By Clea Benson -- Bee Capitol Bureau Published 12:01 am PDT Thursday, July 13, 2006
With temperatures hitting the 100s, it can take a lot of sprinkler time to keep grass green.
A new report predicts that global warming and an influx of new residents buying homes with big yards in California's hottest, driest regions will lead to a lot more lawns drinking up even more water over the next 25 years.
The Public Policy Institute of California says homeowners should focus on water conservation when they irrigate their landscaping to help offset the inevitable rise in demand, especially if they live in climates such as Sacramento's where water evaporates quickly.
But don't start uprooting all your turf just yet. Ellen Hanak, one of the report's authors, said new technology and smart planting can save gallons.
"It doesn't mean you have to go to brown-looking yards with rocks and cactus," Hanak said.
"There are a lot of really nice low-water plants that can be used in combination with lawns. You reserve your lawn for the part of your yard where you're really going to use it."
Lawns in inland areas use two to three times as much water as those on the coast because yards tend to be larger, single-family housing is more common, and the climate is hotter, the report says. The average yard in the Sacramento area, for example, uses 165 percent more water than the average yard in the San Francisco Bay Area.
