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<br />> I' T
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<br />....~ it:, SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 19
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<br />GrassfSprings~\ ,atev":use triple:~,. during
<br />From Ai For some, green la" , much ~~l~t~~ their grus needs, -
<br />,fined under a water-wasting are worth the ~.e ~ood lawItS with two to three . . I
<br />.'ordinance. . times more water than required.
<br />. In Aurora, residents must But persuading people 'ey also waste water, using au- "I'm fru~trated by' our ~llective
<br />. obtain a lawn permit from the spray less water on theirJ~J!'nS" o:matfc sprinkler.systems that
<br />~ity.Togetone',theyarere-" ~ortolaY8malleronel!l....eJin~t runevenwhllettralns.And decision to sacrifice our rivers forthe
<br />. fqulred to show re{:elp~ (or the easy. To some. It'8 like I as. any sprinklers send hundreds . .
<br />pu<<h... of ,ompo,' and 00" nu- th,m to gl.. up ..110. of '" .f gall.nolnto the ."ee.... .', sak,e of urban irrigation when, that's a
<br />trlents, which curb the amount' American dream ' " " , Finally, many people do not
<br />of water the grass needs. : Lawns, lIay the le8ions"q ",1 ~properly prepa,re the underl,Yi~g c~oi.ce"we don't have to make.":
<br />l~ . The Cherokee Metropolitan' bluegrass backers, not 0 11'80lJ lor Brass, depriyjng Jt of
<br />District, a water provider just vide environmental benefl: ' compost and nutrients that ,director for the Durango-based Colorado Rlv~rs Alllane.
<br />east of Colorado Springs' dty 'they also act as a kind of ., :' would help it grow lush without Bill Bake'
<br />f'lImits, recently banned watering . blanket on neighborhoods; " ; 80 much water. Or they mow '.\ .
<br />between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. _ touching our sense of aestheflcs,' gr8SlJ too short, making it less .
<br />when the hot SUn evaporates the ,complementing homes,'provll;ling : tolerant of heat 'and drough~ :'. '
<br />waterbeforeJtcanseepJntothe-,;allVingrugforkldstoplayon.,;.! . ".,.'.. ....
<br />$OU, The distrICt also limits wa. I"H~k, lawns make us le:;l gcxtl:1. i OMclaIs' want residents - .
<br />tertng to every other day, "llovethegreenery, san_!:,j.. I "',,,
<br />Experts say such rules could .: Ralph Huber, who has 14,OQ:O: ,/ ,to ftnd options to grass ;
<br />move from the exception to the : square feet of it at his.StrtitUlooi: :, . ..,':,
<br />. '~,oJlOrm'in the West, where millions ,Hills ~ome, Including a, pllt#.N.!'"f " The lawn industry would ! .
<br />J of residents intent on converting: green that covers m~C;l\ ~t,I'" : ,rather talk a~ut the many, ~ne-.
<br />I seltLi.arld and arid environments back yard, . . ,.," ." ,fits of grUII.. ..'.
<br />~lnto greenery are putting a 'Huber. a 27.year residen_ who j Grass controls erosion, and, .'
<br />!grOWing strain on water :Iretlred from the military arid, ',the 'like II. sponge, it traps partlcu,
<br />supplies, . ..lnsurance business, dotes ~rr::..,., lates and cuts down on dust.
<br />f' "The a1tuatlon 19 such that, at I his gra.!ls, mowing It, t~,.!:; I Grass ab$Orbs carbon dioxide
<br />~some point, there is going to .,It, edging It, fertllWng it aR,f1;tt.:., 'I and releases generous amounts
<br />f have to be a change, or several yes, watering It-:- a Jot. H~g.l,. ofoJeygen, And It has a tremen-
<br />'_changes In how we use water" ures he waters hIS puttlngEn_ 'dous cooling effect, with a sur.
<br />. said Lb: Gardener with the city' , live to sill: times a week "t "'f'i.]face temperature 30 degrees less
<br />,of Denver's water department,'! To him, the expense, the. ' e, ,than asp'halt and 14 degrees I~ss .
<br />which is studying what conser. "_ .the energy ls worth It. ,,\" ,than dirt.
<br />vatlon measures may be needed r: '"It's enjoyable; the ~~!~: The water that trickles
<br />~heYQnd 2010. "Every city and I~ it, the grandklds love it, 'h~~:t- through the soU returns to the
<br />"every utility Is looking at those sald. "I am certainly wllU~ 'l'!'J water table where It slowly .
<br />changes In a somewhat different ~ do It because I enjoy the green,',h' heads back to creeks or aquifers,
<br />way" ,To many, partlcularly'to.those lor it evaporates, adding humid.
<br />In' few pf these places does a " who move here from,polntli,' '~t,:~. Ity,!-,> our, dry climate." '
<br />I?,:ater crisis yet exist. But as' lawns are what they ve ~"",s, ' BI~egrass Is a wonderful ,- ,
<br />~ planners.1ook to the future, they ,kn~wn; . ~~"'" plant, said Bob Short, a Sp~lngs
<br />.know water will oniy become a ,) We retyplcal ofs~m~':'."
<br />mote Important commodity, 'people in this city; we ve a&.~s, I: .
<br />With environmental concerns had lush green grass, and we"" " . .
<br />,making It harder to divert water .naturaily wanted the s8Il\e:.he~~
<br />from rivers, and draw it from un. .even though it's probably not '
<br />derground sources, looking at the proper thing to do," aai!i:Bob
<br />ways to save water now could .,Wlgnall, a retiree who mov~to
<br />1 put off the need for costly pro- his Mountain Shadows home.it', -. .'
<br />jectslater they say. from Maryland in 1994. ,.".,
<br />In Colo;ado Sprtngs, water "But it looks nice. I'd saY'ou.r:"
<br />consumption triples In the sum- whole neighborhood looka nice; .
<br />meltlme with households using everyone here has bluegrass,"
<br />an aver.,:ge of GOO gallons a day WJgna.lJ said. "Jt also helps at--
<br />e compared with 200 In colder ' ,tract birds, which 1 enjoy, ':.~:
<br />.months, Citywide, an average of But homeowners like Huber -
<br />120 million gallons a day is used and Wignall, along with water<
<br />in the hottest months vs. 40 mil. .providers, say grass wouldn't at-
<br />"_ lion gallons a day In winter, tract $0 much blame for heavy
<br />," It summer consumptJon con. water use If It were care<I ~~~ i: ~
<br />tim:les to climb as the city grows, ,correctly, <'-~ .'
<br />the city's utility will have to The problem, they say,ls u.,.t
<br />.spend tens of mUlIons of dollars I many people, unawart' of ~r, ~
<br />';e, on new or expanded water treat. ',~'
<br />11mentfacillties, 1\',
<br />And eventually, the Springs " '
<br />simply will need more water
<br />supplies. Currently, Colorado
<br />~prmgs aenves 11.:1 wa~l:r fWIll
<br />. several places - reservoirs on
<br />Pikes Peak 8I\d Colorado's West-
<br />em.slo~.1 as weU as the Arkan-
<br />-BiS RiVer, But there's a limit on
<br />how much water the city can
<br />take because competing users-
<br />~'i!=lties, farmers and wlldllfe-
<br />ahlo need their share.
<br />~I" The 26 or $0 smaller districts
<br />In F,l Paso County could also run . .
<br />Into supply problems, as many
<br />draw water from underground
<br />or from smail creeks.
<br />
<br />resident who, as a volunteer
<br />with Colorado Springs UtJ)JtJes,
<br />helps educate the public on the
<br />benefits of landscaping with
<br />drought-tolerant plants. "It reo
<br />. tovers quickly-from abuse, it tol-
<br />erates drought, It can go dor.
<br />mant. then, come back after YOll
<br />water It."
<br />But Short - who has a large
<br />spread of grass himself - sug-
<br />gests $Orne people should com.
<br />promise a bit. '
<br />','Like $0 many things In Ufe,
<br />we overdo ft," he said. "People
<br />want $Omething iush and green
<br />that really feels like a carpet. If
<br />people would lower their expec-
<br />tatlo~: they could save a lot of
<br />water., '
<br />, Guy Johnson, 8 homeowner
<br />near Valley HI Golf Course, has
<br />land&caped his back yard with
<br />shrubs, low.water plants and
<br />bark. He said he's "just trying
<br />to do my part," for the '
<br />\ environment. . .
<br />
<br />the
<br />
<br />,"1 came here frorn Iowa,
<br />where you dJdn't have to water
<br />your lawn (because of the
<br />rain)," he said, "I saw al1 these
<br />people here watering, watering,
<br />watering. I said, 'My God,
<br />they're using all this water, It
<br />must cost a lot. These people
<br />aren't on the banks of the Mis-
<br />slsslppl River: "
<br />Selling people on the'ldea of
<br />less gr8S5 isn't easy, Just ask
<br />Colorado Springs Utilities,
<br />whJch has taken plenty of heat
<br />for Its proposal to'keep home.
<br />owners' associations from reo
<br />qulring residents to plant grass.
<br />The proposal wlU go to City
<br />Council July 8.
<br />Recently - alter getting an
<br />'earful from homeowner groups
<br />- officials yanked a provision
<br />that would have applied the or-
<br />dinance to existing neighbor.
<br />hoods, Now, it would only apply
<br />'to f.uture developments.
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