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California, Is It Time To Wave Goodbye To Your Front Lawn?

While agriculture is California’s largest consumer of water, Governor Jerry Brown wants to increase the focus on commercial and resident users. Jeffrey Hess with Valley Public Radio reports they are a big focus of Brown’s new mandatory water restrictions.

Golf course, cemeteries and other large plots of land will soon be required to reduce their usage under the new rules.

Governor Brown also wants to remove 50-million square feet of lawn around the state and replace it with drought resistant landscaping.

That’s a fantastic idea according to Fresno based urban gardening expert Kiel Schmidt.

“We need toward a perspective that a drought tolerant landscape is the ideal and that is what everyone should be envious over. I have the most beautiful front yard but I use no water,” Schmidt said.

But not everyone likes the idea.

John Trotter says there are no level of incentives that lead him to replace his Fresno yard.

“No, it’s still ugly. There are incentives in the south. So many dollars per square foot, but it still wouldn’t be worth it to make our house ugly,” Trotter said.

Among other restrictions cities will be prohibited from water ornamental grass in road medians and new housing developments will have to use drip irrigation if they want to irrigate with potable water.

Jeffrey Hess is a reporter and Morning Edition news host for Valley Public Radio. Jeffrey was born and raised in a small town in rural southeast Ohio. After graduating from Otterbein University in Columbus, Ohio with a communications degree, Jeffrey embarked on a radio career. After brief stops at stations in Ohio and Texas, and not so brief stops in Florida and Mississippi, Jeffrey and his new wife Shivon are happy to be part Valley Public Radio.
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