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But with attractive alternatives to water-hungry turf now widely available, the continued installation of ornamental turf in new landscapes has to be seen as a wasteful practice. Functional turf has its place, now and in our future, for playing surfaces and places where people assemble. But turf as an ornamental ground cover should be disallowed in state regulations covering new landscapes, and DWR has stopped short of that goal.
2. Onsite Retention of Stormwater
Preventing rainwater from running off into gutters and into oceans and streams (picking up debris and polluted substances along the way) simultaneously improves water quality and reduces the waste of water that is otherwise shunted away to storm drains. The avoidance of waste requires the treatment of rainwater and stormwater as resources.
On-site retention and infiltration is already required by many stormwater permits applying to large new projects in major cities. By including this requirement in the Model Ordinance, we can ensure that rainwater is put to beneficial use in new developments of all types throughout California. DWR’s new draft Model Ordinance encourages, but does not require, rainwater catchment and storm water retention. Unfortunately, previous “recommendations” in the Model Ordinance have not been effective.
Given the magnitude of the state’s need for maintaining adequate water supplies and for improving the quality of stormwater discharges, a reasonable requirement for on-site retention for new development just makes sense. A clear standard for retention and infiltration in the Model Ordinance will help ameliorate both the water quality and water availability challenges facing the state. This is an opportunity that should not be missed.
3. Metering Outdoor Water Use
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. DWR took a positive step by including new requirements for separate measurement of water applied to landscape irrigation. Unfortunately, under the proposed revision, the installation of meters are limited that to larger properties. This requirement must apply to all parcels covered by MWELO. The only way a landscape can be managed to ensure that it stays within the water budget to which it was designed is by measuring the amount of water being applied.
Can you imagine trying to manage your finances if you never saw a bank balance? Inexpensive meters are available for this purpose, and the capability for property owners to conveniently read such meters and analyze their data through mobile devices is growing.
While DWR proposes that most new commercial landscapes have meters, the new proposal exempts most residential landscapes from any measurement requirement. Yet residential landscape water use is even larger than commercial landscape use as a share of total urban water usage. Installation of a meter to measure the water used to irrigate new residential landscapes should be required.
We are in the fourth year of an epic drought … with no end in sight. And we know that we are likely to see more frequent and intense droughts in the future. We must find a way to use our precious and limited drinking water supply more efficiently; and surely using it to water plants that serve no purpose other than aesthetics isn’t the best use for half of that supply.
We must make better use of alternative sources such as graywater and rainwater, we must measure what we use, and we must move away from large swaths of turf and toward beautiful landscapes filled with native, drought-resilient plants.
New landscapes are an opportunity to build smarter communities right from the start, and a stronger model landscape ordinance can point the way.
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