City of Corona Wages Turf War

Corona officials want to plant conservation plots on city-maintained landscape maintenance districts in Corona neighborhoods, in hopes that homeowners and businesses will decide to get rid of their lawns in favor of drought-tolerant plants.

With water supplies under tight control and the threat of drought looming, Corona officials are in a war with grass. The grass on city properties requires countless gallons of water to stay lush and green, but the grass is not necessary.

The city of Corona, CA has launched a campaign to save water and money by replacing the turf at some facilities with drought-resistant plants that sip rather than gulp liquid resources. A square foot of grass drinks about 50 gallons of water a year.

Early victories have been scored at four Department of Water and Power facilities, including a sewer booster station, where workers removed 7,000 square feet of grass this month.

Once the grass is removed, workers retool the sprinkler system, changing from spraying heads to the kind that dribble water directly onto plant roots. Then the new plants go in.

Construction Superintendent Victor Zamora noted the water-saving landscaping that’s already in a place at water reclamation facility. “This is a zero-maintenance project, so it does not require mowers, weed eaters or edgers,” he said. That project also uses recycled water, so it saves about 30,000 gallons of drinking water per month. This is important because water providers are raising rates and making mandatory supply cuts.

Councilman Eugene Montanez said he plans to follow the city’s example by tearing out the grass at his printing business and his front lawn at home. He’ll probably put in rock landscaping at the business, and at home he’s considering low-water plants, he said.

“I think most people think if you take out your lawn, it has to be cactus and dirt,” he said. “You can make a very lush yard with low water.”

Source: pe.com/localnews/inlandx